Last week, U.S. soccer was dealt with two high-profile incidents of extreme weather disrupting professional matches. In both cases, play continued despite conditions not allowing anything close to normal play.
The latest two occurred on Wednesday, when persistent heavy rain flooded the pitch at Caife Santiago’s Snapdragon Stadium. The U.S. Women’s National Team’s Gold Cup semifinal matchup against Canada. Due to the conditions, the ball could not travel more than a few feet on the ground in much of the field, which played a direct role in the U.S.’s first goal.
JAEDYN SHAW Ride the Storm MMMM 🔥🤩 pic.twitter.com/0gq2tkR2sa
– Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) March 7, 2024
“Honestly, it’s crazy,” Shaw said. “We had a good warm-up … the ball was moving really fast and we were excited to be in a really tight game, and then we came back and we were like, ‘What happened?'”
Asked if the game should have been played, U.S. women’s national team interim head coach Twila Kilgore said: “Probably not.”
Last Saturday’s MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC was similarly affected, but with a different pattern of precipitation. That game, played at America’s First Course in Sandy, Utah, was first postponed due to high winds and then again shortly after kickoff due to lightning. Snow began to fall as soon as the game officially began, resulting in four inches of snow during Salt Lake City’s 3-0 victory.
“This is one of the worst professional sports events I’ve ever seen in my life,” LAFC head coach Steve Cerundolo said after the game. His comments were banned by the league this week for violating the league’s policy on public criticism. Fine of $10,000. “I feel sad that we put our players through something like this. The game could have and should have been (cancelled). The way we played today was an absolute disgrace in my opinion.”
Why are these games allowed to continue to be played?
In North America, football games are typically canceled or postponed only if lightning or any weather that affects the structural integrity of the stadium occurs within a certain radius of the stadium. While baseball and tennis (the most recent tournament was postponed due to rain) are in the more delicate stages of cancellation, football is generally about as likely to be played in inclement weather as American football.
There are many examples of professional and international soccer matches being played in harsh conditions, perhaps the most prominent example being the U.S. men’s national team’s World Cup qualifying match against Costa Rica in Commerce City, Colorado, just outside of Denver (dubbed by many U.S. fans “U.S. Men’s World Cup Qualifiers”). called “Snow Clásico”). In a 2022 World Cup qualifying match, the United States hosted Honduras in Sao Paulo in February, with kickoff temperatures hovering around 2 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 degrees Celsius). That game also went as planned.
Herculez Gomez takes a corner kick during the 2013 Snow Country Derby (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Saturday’s game continued with the surprise of new RSL signing Matty Crooks, who has spent his entire career in England.
“Back in England, I’d probably say in about 10 minutes the game would have been called off,” Crooks said. “But to be fair, no one in the locker room mentioned the game being called off, so it was like, ‘OK, we’re going to finish the game.'”
U.S. Women’s National Team forward Alex Morgan noted how Wednesday’s situation turned a game that was mostly played on the ground into a completely different game.
“It was hard to call it a football game tonight, especially in the first half,” she told the media later. “Your instinct is to dribble, and then you can’t dribble and you lose the ball. When you have shorter options, your instinct is not to hit the ball too far, but we started with Jay’s goal To see that… it’s anybody’s game, just put your instincts aside and really grind for this win.”
Alex Morgan is tackled by a Canadian defender (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
What are the rules of the W Gold Cup? Is this different from NWSL?
Many professional tournaments around the world usually have a supervisor whose job it is to ensure that all the logistics required for the tournament are in place. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring both teams and referees arrive on time, inspecting the playing surface, ensuring safety arrangements are in place and acting as the organizer’s representative on site. In CONCACAF, this person is called the Match Commissioner and is usually stationed on the touchline between the benches.
The CONCACAF W Gold Cup rules stipulate that it is up to the match referee to decide whether to play the game in bad weather conditions (except for lightning conditions), but in fact, the match referee has the final decision. explain.
“Technically and practically, by law, the final say is always with the referee,” Christina Unkel, a professional referee and CBS rules analyst, said during halftime. “That being said, practically speaking, the final decision is always made by the referee. , every CONCACAF match has a match commissioner. As we saw in the first minute of this match, when the referee walked near the fourth official station (where the match commissioner was standing place) nearby, she demonstrated that the ball wasn’t actually rolling. It was clear from her exemplary performance that she didn’t necessarily think it was a safe situation, but the game commissioner told her to continue with the game. “
CONCACAF did not respond to requests for comment from Competitor About the decision-making process that led to Wednesday’s game going ahead.
In the NWSL, weather delay decisions are made by the Weather Delay Committee in accordance with the league’s 2023 Rules and Regulations. The committee is made up of referees, representatives from each team (usually the head coach) and stadium staff.
The 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals at Red Bull Arena were postponed due to Superstorm Sandy and eventually played in the Northeast (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
What are the rules of MLS competition?
According to Major League Soccer’s policy, “a game may be postponed or postponed if there are circumstances in which the start or continuation of a game poses a threat to the safety and well-being of participants or spectators.”
“The decision as to whether a game is deemed ‘postponed’ or ‘postponed’ shall be made at the sole and absolute discretion of the league office,” the policy reads. The league typically makes decisions based on meteorologists, venue staff and the two participating teams. opinions to make decisions.
MLS said it considers the safety of players, officials, staff and fans first, followed by game-related factors such as pitch playability. The league will also consider logistical factors such as the availability of venues and game officials if the game is played the next day. After considering the factors above, consider broadcast implications and other business aspects.
Heavy rain hit the Los Angeles area at the start of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season last February, and the league rescheduled the highly regarded El Trafico match between the LA Galaxy and LAFC due to reasons were “safety considerations due to severe weather,” which included flooding of parking lots around the stadium. The game was rescheduled for July 4th a few months later. Los Angeles has the fourth-highest average rainfall (6 inches). In February, Los Angeles received 12.6 inches of rain, one inch less than the record set in 1988.
What was the response?
After Real Salt Lake’s game against LAFC, LAFC defender Ryan Hollinghead said the MLS Players Association will receive complaints from players.
“My lower back is killing me,” he said. “It’s like running on an ice rink. You keep slipping. The whole goal is just to not fall and hurt yourself. Definitely going to be taken to the players association. I Know that our representatives will engage in dialogue immediately.”
An MLSPA spokesman said it was contacted Thursday. sports: “We are continuing to discuss with our players and the league what needs to be done better. At this time, we have no further statement.”
Reaction to the tournament conditions on social media was generally negative. Former USWNT player Julie Foudy posted“This is crazy. Stop the game.” The NWSL team, led by San Diego Waves head coach Casey Stoney, plays at Snapdragon Stadium and he is concerned about the players on the field, including Multiple representatives from the Waves. writing“It’s so dangerous!! Make the right call for the safety of the players!”
“Why are players put in this situation? These cannot be safe playing conditions,” former USWNT player Sam Mewis posted.
(Popular Photo: Getty Images)
