The Ref Stop

Should the game off been played?

RefJack

RefJack

Member
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Hi all,

I just wanted to get some opinions from you guys as to whether or not this match should of been played. It was Luton Town vs Barnet FC in the football conference new years day. The rain was HORRENDOUS!

Now, I'm a Luton fan so I'll try not to be bias and will look at it from all different angles and point of view. My first impression whilst walking to the train station was "I can not believe the game will go ahead." But we arrived at the ground, the pitch at first impressions looked water logged however an announcement went out to the fans that the game will be going ahead. The home team manager John Still made it very clear to the referee, if this game is going to be started then it must be finished.

Important factor, today's game was being broadcasted live out on BT Sport which is very rare for non-league football, so it was a big big game for all. Some will say the game only went ahead due to the presence of BT.

I have found a 3 minute highlights video of the game, obviously with all these new camera's rain does not appear on the screen however I can tell you now it was non stop rain and you will soon see how quickly the pitch was effected.

Luton Town went 2-0 up and in the 60th minute the referee, Kevin Johnson decided enough was enough... The ball didn't roll at all on the pitch, however it had been the same from the very start. It was unplayable so he blew his whistle and called the captains and his assistants over. After discussions he then decided the game will in fact continue, Barnet then went and got a goal straight away so neither team wanted the game to stop. Again many people will claim the reason's for the game continuing is due to the presence of BT and the 7500 Luton Town fans singing songs for it to continue.

Game finished 2-1 Luton, so obviously the Barnet fans are disgusted at the referee for allowing the game to even be played, and if you have a look on Barnet's official twitter page just how they feel about the decisions

What are your thoughts guys, as I said the video doesn't do the conditions justice.

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The Ref Stop
From what you said, I thought game shouldn't have been played.

I then looked at the video, and it really was bad. At first didn't seem too bad, but then when the replays went close up you could see how bad it actually was.

It did get worse as it went on, but I think he probably could've called it off before it kicked off. It isn't good for the spectators or players when they can't play properly, whether or not the game is live on TV.
 
PHOTO: A friend of mine has just sent me a photo low down of the pitch, it really displays just how bad the conditions really were
 

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i always thought that games got called off at luton because of violent pitch invasions :0
 
I watched the game on BT Sports, I didnt even know the game was on TV until i found it by accident so i though i will watch that and as soon as I saw the pitch I thought how the hell is he playing this game.

The conditions were terrible, and effected play so much, the game should never of been played, it dosnt matter that its a live game on TV. Since when have TV over ruled the referee and his duties???

with that said mind well done to both sets of players for playing and making it a good game, I did also think the ref had a good game but then he didnt have much to do as the players were unable to play as they would normally.
 
jojo said:
From what you said, I thought game shouldn't have been played.

I then looked at the video, and it really was bad. At first didn't seem too bad, but then when the replays went close up you could see how bad it actually was.

It did get worse as it went on, but I think he probably could've called it off before it kicked off. It isn't good for the spectators or players when they can't play properly, whether or not the game is live on TV.
Click to expand...

I cringed a few times when ball stopped moving. It should not played pure and simple
 
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