After 24 hours of waiting, England are preparing to finally take to the field for the rescheduled World Cup qualifier against Poland on Wednesday afternoon (4pm kick-off).
The match has been hastily rearranged by FIFA but it was a nightmare evening full of farce and madness from the world’s governing body and the Polish Football Association.
Total Football’s Simon Wright explores the main winner and many losers from the shenanigans at the National Stadium in Warsaw.
The roof should have been closed
Throughout a cracking European Championship tournament this summer, the main stadium in Warsaw had a sliding roof that was shut.
This meant the action could carry on without the threat from thunderstorms, unlike the Donbass Arena in Donetsk when a biblical storm delayed Ukraine’s group match with France for over an hour.
On Tuesday morning, it was forecasted that there would be heavy rain for the match. Allegedly, the ploy was for the roof to remain open and allow the pitch to soak up some moisture, hence handing the home side slightly better playing conditions.
What the Polish weather forecasters got terribly wrong was they didn’t know how much rain was going to fall.
One of the media officers for the Poland football team said to ITV that they knew it was going to rain heavily but they weren’t expecting the downpour they got.
Without wanting to sound silly but what’s the difference between heavy rain and a downpour? I thought they were pretty much the same.
The forecast predicted bad weather hours before kick-off so the roof should have been shut and therefore, the game could have been played at the scheduled time.
The Polish FA have been made to look pretty embarrassed by what happened. It can’t be helped if there was no roof. We’ve had it plenty of times in England down the years.
However, there was a roof and this could have been so easily avoided.
FIFA’s incompetence shines through again
Sometimes, FIFA have been made to look like a laughing stock. They haven’t had the best of headlines over the past few years for a number of reasons.
From an early stage, it was crystal clear to the majority that the pitch was totally unplayable and no game could take place.
Once Roy Hodgson and the England squad arrived at the ground and saw the pitch, they knew a match was unlikely in the climate experienced.
Honestly, the average normal person could have told you that the pitch was dangerous and totally unsafe to play on.
Yet, football’s main governing body couldn’t, which is startling to say the least.
The agony was prolonged far too long. The match was eventually called off just before 9pm UK time but that was after three fruitless pitch inspections.
Time was needed just in case the drainage was working and the pitch could be restored to some sort of playing condition for a match to take place.
However, with the pitch in such a state at 8pm when an inspection took place, a match was never going to happen.
So, why delay the inevitable for the suffering supporters in the stands and the broadcasters in England and Poland televising the game?
FIFA’s desperation in wanting the game to take place outshone the most important concern, which was the safety of the players.
At least the game has been rescheduled quickly but I’m afraid, their incompetence has shone through yet again.
ITV come out with a lot of credit
The UK broadcaster for live terrestrial football is ITV and they have taken a lot of flak since winning rights to England internationals back in 2008. I have to admit that I’m not their biggest fan either.
However, full praise has to go out to the ITV Sport team for their coverage of the non-event on Tuesday evening.
It seemed like they were informing the viewer better than what FIFA were telling the worldwide journalists and the coaching teams.
Presenter Adrian Chiles couldn’t hide his frustration as a football fan himself. Pundits Lee Dixon and Gareth Southgate admitted they looked at the pitch condition an hour before they went on the air and that it looked unplayable.
Plus, they did add a slightly humorous outlook on events, such as showing manic supporters running onto the field (or swimming pool) whatever you wanted to call it and diving into the water that was building up.
Roy Keane called the referee ‘a clown’ for his desperation in kicking the football on a number of pointless occasions to see if the ball would bounce. That was a fruitless exercise in itself.
In these situations with massive rain delays or kick-off changes, the media broadcasters have some major challenges but I think ITV did extremely well in the circumstances.
They will show the match live on Wednesday at 3.30pm and come out of the farce with a lot of credit.
Plus, it won’t affect their broadcasting schedules too much. Perhaps the cast of soap opera Emmerdale will be breathing a sigh of relief as their live episode will not be affected.
The fans lose out
Lastly, the main losers aren’t the millions of television viewers but the loyal and dedicated England supporters who made the journey to Warsaw.
Many of them have had to travel back as they were unable to rearrange hotel bookings and flights.
They have had a totally frustrating journey and every symphony has to be shared with those unable to stay.
Supporters have also commented about the lack of information they were given which is totally understandable. It isn't hard to tell fans that there has been a delay in kick-off or a postponement.
The FA will likely reimburse them with compensation for the match tickets they can’t use but that will be little consolation to many.
Many of the home side supporters can come back for the rescheduled match on Wednesday afternoon but the stadium is now only likely to be half-full.
In summary, it was a difficult night for football in general and a situation that could have been so easily avoided.
No-one can control Mother Nature’s instincts but when the technology is there to limit disruption, it is disappointing when it isn’t used.
Some have to take responsibility for the farce witnessed on Tuesday. No doubt there will be plenty of apologises in the coming days.
It was a frustrating experience. The game goes ahead at the second time of asking but the damage and creditability of the Polish FA and FIFA has already gone beyond repair.
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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