Poland face ridicule after England game postponed

Farce followed the heavy rain that fell on Warsaw as Poland’s World Cup qualifier against England was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch after officials failed to close the national stadium’s roof.

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Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi test the pitch prior to the World Cup qualification match between Poland and England at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Published: 1:17pm, 17 Oct 2012Updated: 1:36pm, 17 Oct 2012

Farce followed the heavy rain that fell on Warsaw on Tuesday as Poland’s World Cup Group H qualifier against England was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch after officials failed to close the national stadium’s roof.

The game was rearranged for Wednesday, but the Polish FA was facing an immediate backlash after the decision to leave the retractable roof open despite the city suffering from a sustained storm.

“We were made into a laughing stock,” said former Poland international Tomasz Iwan.

Thousands of fans were angered after being kept at the stadium while authorities waited in vain to see if the Group H fixture could go ahead later on Tuesday evening.

But, with the pitch in places resembling a paddling pool and referee Gianluca Rocchi having conducted a second and final pitch inspection, the game was eventually called off and the players returned to their hotels.

A Polish FA spokeswoman said neither of the side’ representatives nor the FIFA delegate wanted to make the decision to close the roof.
“None of the sides wanted such a solution,” said Agnieszka Olejkowska. “We knew there would be heavy rain but we could not 100 per cent predict the downpour.”