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Germany vs Denmark match abandoned due to bad weather – what happened?

Posted on by Dsen .N

Germany won the round of 16 match against Denmark in Dortmund.

However, after 36 minutes of play, the score was still goalless, and English referee Michael Oliver was in charge of both teams’ play by leaving the pitch.

Here Athlete explains the situation, what the rules of football are and how rare such incidents are.

What happened?

After days of hot weather, the sky above Signal Iduna Park gathered throughout the evening. Earlier in the day, German authorities closed several fan zones due to the risk of storms.

Thunder and lightning could be heard from the distance, and after 32 minutes it started raining.

Shortly thereafter, lightning and two to three ear-splitting thunderclaps could be seen from inside the stadium.

About 30 seconds after the loudest applause, Oliver led the teams off the pitch with Germany in possession. They initially took shelter in their dugouts before the rain intensified and they retired to the locker rooms.

Then heavy hail fell for two to three minutes.


Referee Michael Oliver ordered the players off the pitch (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

How long was the game suspended?

The suspension lasted about 24 minutes — preparations for the restart began as soon as the lights went out. The players emerged from the locker rooms five minutes before the restart and waited for a moment while the groundskeepers checked the pitch.

Early in the second half, Oliver spoke to both captains again after thunder boomed in the distance.

What are the rules?

The referees have the power to stop play if they ever consider conditions to be dangerous – the risk of lightning striking the pitch falls squarely into that category. In theory, this is entirely the referee’s discretion – although the linesman or fourth official can advise.

If the weather was bad enough that the match had to be suspended overnight, UEFA regulations require it to be played the next day at the same venue, without spectators if necessary. There will also be a reserve venue in case the original stadium is unsuitable for hosting due to suspension.

What was told to the crowd?

As soon as the match was suspended, a UEFA message appeared on the screen which read: ‘Due to bad weather conditions, the match has been suspended. More information coming soon.”

The message was displayed in three languages ​​- German, Danish and English.


There were announcements at the stadium (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

What other problems did the storm cause?

Before Georgia’s match against Turkey on the first weekend of the tournament, waterfalls flowed from the roof of the stadium during heavy rains.

The same thing happened again on Saturday night in even worse weather conditions – with three large waterfalls falling from the roof onto the fans. The worst of these was just above the Danish end, near the German TV studios – several Denmark fans took the opportunity to dance shirtless in the rain.

Due to the intensity of the rain, the ground crew had to make sure the pitch was not flooded, but after the lightning stopped, these checks only led to a delay of less than five minutes.

Is this a common occurrence during football matches?

It is not the first time this has happened at the Euros. Twelve years ago, at Euro 2012, a group stage match between hosts Ukraine and France was suspended in the fifth minute due to lightning. On that occasion, referee Bjorn Kuipers kept the players off the pitch for 58 minutes. As a result, England’s next match against Sweden started 15 minutes later than scheduled.

In 2009, top-level Danish team player Jonathan Richter was struck by lightning during a training match for FC Nordsjaelland. He was in a coma for almost two weeks and ultimately had to have his lower leg amputated.

More recently, a match between Real Salt Lake and LAFC in Utah was interrupted after just four minutes in March of this year when lightning was spotted near the stadium. Major League Soccer (MLS) has a mandatory 30-minute postponement.

In general, lighting delays are a much more common sight in golf – where players are more exposed to more open areas. For example, the Travelers Championship was suspended twice last week due to storms.

(Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)