The English Football League (EFL) issued a new statement over the weekend regarding an abandoned championship match between Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town. Saturday’s game at Ewood Park was stopped by heavy rain and was eventually abandoned by the referee from full-time, 10 minutes full-time. It is still unknown if it will count as a completed match and points awarded to Blackburn.
The EFL issued an update Wednesday at 1pm, saying, “Following the abandonment of the Skybet Championship fixture between Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town, the two clubs were given a deadline of 4pm today, making the final word to the league.
Blackburn Rovers boss Valerian Ismael believes his team should be awarded three points despite the pitch being unable to handle the rain. Todd Cantwell’s penalty raised the hosts 1-0, and Ipswich saw Jacob Greaves sent early in the second half.
Blackburn hopes to achieve results given the state of the match and the time played before being abandoned. However, Ipswich argues that the replays are more fair as they may have stopped earlier, and that abundance of stops would provide them with an opportunity to save the draw.
Ismael told Rovers TV:
“For us, especially when the other person is 10, I think we want three points in such a situation. I think 11V11 is a different situation, but this situation was clear. We were a clear advantage.
Rovers boss Ismael also rejected the proposal that he agreed to the match being abandoned, claiming that he was never consulted. “It was confusing after the match,” he added. “We had to accept the decision. The referee has abandoned the game. We’ll go from there. We’re now waiting for the decision.
“We put a point about the situation. We were the push team at that point and we were on the front legs. We were hoping we would get paid because we think this was fair.
“But apart from that, one thing from my side has to be really clear. I saw a report from the EFL at the end of the game. I didn’t agree to stop the game.
“The pitch couldn’t play and he’s sorry, but the EFL said they’d make a decision, so I didn’t have to agree to anything because the decision was made.
“It’s hard to know what the outcome will be. But everyone has to take this case very seriously. That’s certainly going to be a precedent.”
