Blackburn Rovers find themselves in a tricky situation after their game against Ipswich Town was abandoned with just 10 minutes remaining. The match at Ewood Park was stopped due to a waterlogged pitch and the decision has certainly proven controversial. Blackburn were a goal up at the time of the abandonment, with Todd Cantwell scoring a penalty in the second half.
Ipswich, meanwhile, were reduced in numbers when Jacob Greaves was quite rightly dismissed for a last-man foul on Yuki Ohashi. The game was initially suspended as the rain persisted and both sets of players were taken off the pitch. The officials later emerged to test the bounce of the ball, concluding that it was too wet for play to continue and abandoning the game.
Blackburn supporters will feel hard done by, given the late timing and the fact that they were on course to beat one of the promotion favourites. However, the referee was left with little choice but to stop the match with no sign of the weather easing up.
The EFL are yet to decide what happens next, with a verdict set to be announced over the coming days. Both teams submitted their cases on Monday and it will be down to a board of 10 directors to find a solution that works for all parties.
The fact of the matter is that such a magic solution does not exist. There are three options available to the EFL: replay the match in full, play the final 10 minutes at a later date, or allow the result at the time of the abandonment to stand.
While replaying the match in full would be a bitter blow for Blackburn, it is the only fair option in this scenario. At the end of the day, the match was abandoned because their pitch could not handle the amount of water falling from the sky.
Ipswich should not be punished because of Blackburn’s failure to ensure their pitch had enough drainage. In fact, it is slightly embarrassing that a Championship club are in this situation as it is the sort of thing you would expect from a lower-league side.
Allowing the result to stand would be a miscarriage of justice because so much can happen in 10 minutes of football. Last month, two late goals saw Birmingham City come from behind and win at Ewood Park in an almost identical scenario, just with less rain.
Meanwhile, playing the remainder of the match at a later date would not only be farcical, but also a logistical nightmare. In such a case, Ipswich and their fans would have to make the long journey up from Suffolk for just 10 measly minutes of football.
It means there is only one logical solution and that would be to replay the entire match in full. While it is not ideal for Blackburn, it should be remembered that it was only abandoned because their pitch was not robust enough to handle the conditions.
Plenty of other clubs in the vicinity managed it and Ipswich were certainly not to blame, so anything else would be unfair on the Tractor Boys.
