Friday night’s Jupiler Pro League match between Standard Liege and Royal Antwerp was called off by the referee in the 88th minute and the match is scheduled to end next week.
Standard Liege and Royal Antwerp players were left stunned when their Jupiler Pro League match was called off by the referee with minutes remaining. In the 88th minute, a cup was thrown at the referee and all 22 players had to leave the pitch.
The clip shows the referee on the touchline responding to a plastic cup flying from the stands and hitting him in the upper back. The official immediately turned to the stands, blew the whistle and pointed toward the changing room.
As he crosses the pitch, confused and surprised players from both teams run after him. Some Standard players were then seen looking into the stands, clearly unhappy with the incident.
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Shortly after the waiver, Standard acknowledged the situation in a statement on its official website. They confirmed that the match would finish behind closed doors.
“The match between Standard and Antwerp, which was interrupted in the 87th minute this Friday evening, will be resumed behind closed doors at the end of the match, including extra time, on Monday or Tuesday next week, in accordance with the new federal regulations,” they said.
“The supporter who threw the cup at the referee has been identified and the club will begin the process of banning him from the Civic Stadium, as well as filing a lawsuit for compensation.”
At the time, Standard Liege had won the match 1-0 thanks to Rafiki Said’s goal just 16 seconds later. However, as a result of VAR review, Adnan Abid was shown a straight red card in the 39th minute, reducing the number to 10 men.
Standard Liège and Antwerp both had poor starts to the season. Both sides have earned 11 points from their opening 10 games, with Standard only having a better goal difference than their rivals, which will keep them out of the relegation play-offs.
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Championship side Blackburn Rovers recently had a match called off, but unlike the decision in Belgium, a rematch will be required. Last month, a Championship home game against Ipswich Town was called off after 80 minutes due to a flooded pitch.
At this point Blackburn were leading 1-0 and Ipswich were reduced to 10 men. However, the EFL ruled that all matches would be replayed at a new date on Tuesday 2 December.
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