Soccer Football - UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier - Group A - Scotland v Georgia - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - June 20, 2023 Ground staff are seen on the pitch sweeping off rain water as the match is stopped due to bad weather REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Ian Maxwell presided over another farce tonight with Scotland’s European Championship qualifier subjected to a delay of 98 minutes due to rain.
After a number of pitch inspections the match referee attempted to resume the match at 9.15, but the Georgians refused to leave their dressing room. A 9.30 restart was then announced before the match resumed at 9.36pm.
Not for the first time Hampden hosted a panto as they attempted to re-start the match with a scheduled finish well after 11pm when public transport links are closing down.
“Georgia do not want to play this game. They’re in their dressing room, they’re having a briefing with UEFA, and as things stand they are refusing to come out of their dressing room because they don’t want this game to be played” ??
The twists keep coming ?#EURO2024 | #SCOGEO pic.twitter.com/E2Cl1XpJ0b
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) June 20, 2023
10′ | Play restarts after the suspension in play.
??????? 1-0 ??
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 20, 2023
A Georgian protest to UEFA can be expected in the morning.
Two years ago Hampden was staging matches at the European Championships but repeatedly the SFA are unable to provide a surface suitable for staging elite football matches.
In January, playing Viaplay Cup semi-finals on successive days was heavily criticised by all four competing clubs, a new pitch was laid for the final but was still sub-standard.
Celebrating their 150th anniversary the SFA now have sole ownership of Hampden Park, across the street Lesser Hampden is in such good condition that Steve Clarke insisted that Scotland ditch the SFA funded Oriam complex in Edinburgh to prepare on the pitch owned by Queens Park.
The match official will inspect the pitch again at 9.15pm.
If they are satisfied with the pitch conditions, the match will restart.#SCOGEO
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 20, 2023
“If an association refuses to play or is responsible for a match not taking place or not being played in full, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body declares the match forfeited by the association concerned.” https://t.co/pVXcLPIbv3
— Grant Russell (@grantrussell_) June 20, 2023
El partido entre Escocía y Georgia ha tenido que suspenderse momentáneamente al cuarto de hora para intentar retirar el agua caída en el césped de Hampden. ???
De momento, 1-0 con gol de McGregor. pic.twitter.com/LExMvJXQ1x
— Fútbol Escocés ??????? (@BRITescoces) June 20, 2023
Close to 50,000 fans were inside Hampden for 10 minutes action tonight, followed by various pitch inspections with no sign of the Georgians. Getting professional athletes ready to restart after more than 90 minutes of inactivity isn’t easy, especially with a finishing time creeping towards midnight.
A replayed match at St Mirren’s stadium has been suggested, it is likely that a number of the Scotland squad will be booked up for holidays starting tomorrow.
The SFA recently leaked images of a proposed new look Hampden costing £500m for the staging of six club matches a season and a similar number of internationals.
10′ | The match official has suspended the match for twenty minutes to give time to clear the pitch following substantial rainfall.
??????? 0-0 ??
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 20, 2023
6′ | A corner comes in from the right, headed away to the edge of the area where Callum McGregor was waiting to lash the ball into the bottom corner.
Scotland 1-0 Georgia.
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 20, 2023
Play has been suspended for a further ten minutes, after which time another pitch inspection will be made.#SCOGEO
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 20, 2023
UPDATE: Host broadcaster @ViaplaySportsUK report that the Hampden pitch has failed its inspection.
There will be another inspection at 8.35pm.
If the game is abandoned, it will be continued tomorrow at St Mirren’s SMISA Stadium.https://t.co/INSULcbZp1 https://t.co/f9Uqltq8rC pic.twitter.com/M2VJYRjzLD
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) June 20, 2023
? @missconniemac with the latest news
The players are set to warm-up in the next few minutes and, if the captains are happy, the game will resume at 9pm ?#EURO2024 | #SCOGEO pic.twitter.com/BtUAIBEUuk
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) June 20, 2023
BREAKING! There’s yet ANOTHER delay at Hampden – but we’re now slated to re-start at 9.15pm. Big cheers around the stadium… nearly there.https://t.co/h6dzfTRLDI pic.twitter.com/kjn5Ctu2vq
— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) June 20, 2023
“Piss-up in a brewery” is the expression that springs to mind…..
Georgia inisted that the pitch was “improperly prepared”.
SFA can’t really argue with that…? 🙂
Improperly prepared… (pitch) –
Imperfectly registered… (players) Sevco ones –
Aye – one improperly, imperfectly ran governing body in not so Bonnie Scotland for sure !
I see we are all greenkeepers now. One month without rain ground is solid. Water just lies on top and wont drain. Try it on your own garden and you will see what happens.
Think the main issue would have been about having to restart the game with Scotland leading 1-0 when the pitch was clearly not fit enough to even start the game.
Don’t think the delay would have been so long if it was still 0-0, and a fair point, I believe that the Georgians would have had imo.
Total farce, but still calls into question the state of the pitch at hamdump.
Is the drainage still as bad, which is embarrassing in this day and age.
The SFA remain a joke of an organisation and at least the whole of the European footballing world will know same thankfully now.
If this was Madrid after a couple of weeks without rain and dried out land and perhaps a couple of deluges a day or two prior to the game, then on match day the dank, humid weather ended in another deluge, another downpour of, “is the Ark ready?”, proportions, I think it’s a minor miracle the game was played. Sometimes it is a mad, mad happening.
Anyway Scotland won.
Don’t forget, when the land is deprived of water when water arrives the land absorbs it, the plants suck it up. Then you find that like us, when you drink a lot you pee, when you carry on drinking you can’t keep it in. The land is the same if it can’t contain the liquid it sends it to Hampden to try and drown Georgians.
The moral of the story is, wear wellies when you are in Scotland’s Monsoon evening.
I’ve got a new nickname for the Scotland team ! The Soggy Bottom Boys …. They won’t be playing in ‘ constant sorrow ‘ ‘though .