A&H

FOG

T

TSHudson

Active Member
Level 6 Referee
Game on Saturday was fairly foggy and I hadn't actually ever previously thought about what to do in such a situation. Luckily it lifted about 20 mins before KO and I had clear visibility the length of the pitch.

But, what would the visibility need to be to abandon / pause the game? Not able to see the other end of the pitch, as an incident could be taking place that you're unaware of?
 
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I don't think I've ever seen official guidance on this, but I'd have thought that if you can't see from one end of the pitch to the other then you'd have to at least be considering postponing the game.
 
Best advice I can give is: is it going to make the game farcical?

If you can't see to make ball in play decisions that would strongly indicate it's not worth playing.
 
The FA does have a flyer/guidance page for referees doing pitch inspections (as do most County FAs) where fog is mentioned but not in great detail.

Basically, stand on one sideline and decide if you or a CAR/NAR is able to see the CAR/NAR on the other side clearly. Consider also whether or not you can still see both sets of goalposts from inside each 6 yard area and also (at a higher level obviously) whether or not spectators will be able to see the same.

It's down to common sense really. For me, as a referee, if coaches/players are complaining about it then that's enough to make me consider postponement. :)
 
This very subject was brought up at an academy meeting a couple of years ago now.

The guidance given (by a now Premier League referee) is that this is a binary decision.

To start / continue the game you must be able to see:
1. Both goalposts from every point on the field of play.
2. Both assistant referees from every point on the field of play.

If you cannot fulfil both of the above criteria the game must be temporarily paused, postponed or abandoned using the referees professional judgement taking into account factors such as whether the fog is likely to clear etc.
 
Old advice was can one assistant see the other touchline. But that is nonsense, and both keepers have to be able to see the opposition goals, if they can't how are they supposed to deal with long goal kicks that could come down out of the fog?
 
I went to a rugger league game 40 odd years ago, you couldn’t see 25 yards and had to wait for a cheer to see if someone had scored 😂

I can’t remember any of my games affected , blinding hail yes but never fog!
 
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My father played GK in college in San Francisco. For those who don't know San Francisco, the SF Bay kicks up a lot of fog in certain seasons. He talked about games where he would not be able to see any of the players on the field until they emerged suddenly from the fog around midfield.
 
Chelsea vs Charlton on Boxing day 1937.
Game was abandoned in the second half due to fog.

The Charlton goalkeeper Sam Bartram stayed in the pitch for 20 minutes more as he didn't know the other players had departed!
 
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