Should you call off a game for standing water?
I saw these videos from Twitter and I have my own opinion. What do you think?
You probably already know this but it’s always important to remind ourselves…
Our principal responsibilities as referees is to keep players safe.
When I saw this clip of a game being played on a water-logged pitch, I almost couldn’t believe it.
Here you can see how the standing water affects the play. The ball literally stops short on standing water, not to mention the footing of those areas is a huge safety concern for the players.
It’s been suggested the fixture buildup had reached an untenable point. Maybe they were running out of dates to play make-up games so somebody felt this game needed to be played?
I’m obviously an outsider here so I don’t know the details. But I’ve met a few unsavory people in the soccer world who might do something like try to push this game forward for financial reasons, because it makes their life easier, or whatever reason that affects them but not the players or the game.
At the end of the day, it’s our responsibility to keep players safe. That means not playing when safe conditions aren’t met.
Some people will blame the referee for the game not being played but not the groundkeeper for not maintaining the pitch. Not the league for having the guts to postpone the game themselves. Or simply fail to realize that there’s nobody to blame and that mother nature will do whatever she pleases!
My takeaway: I’ve never had to postpone a game before for weather but seeing video clips like this make me more ready to do so when it’s necessary.
Also it’s another good reminder to show up early for games to inspect the pitch, especially if you’re playing on grass. Standing water on large portions of the field is just a no-go.
Know a soccer ref? Feel free to share this with them 💙