Before the game kicked off, a yellow weather warning was issued by the Met Office. Despite the rain, the match went ahead as scheduled and it was goalless in the first half. The visitors were reduced to ten men after the break as Jacob Greaves was shown a red card for a clumsy last-man foul on Yuki Ohashi. Minutes later, Todd Cantwell scored from the penalty spot to hand his team the lead. As Rovers were racing towards a win, the game had to be halted due to the deteriorating condition of the playing surface.
A video shared by journalist Alex Jones on X revealed that the referee tested the pitch condition by rolling the ball on a couple of occasions. In the video, the ball can be seen getting stuck due to a waterlogged pitch. Meanwhile, UK broadcaster ITV have shown the moment the referee brought play to a halt.
Addressing the fans at Ewood Park, the stadium announcer said: “Thank you for your patience. Game abandoned. A decision will be made by the officials whether the match will be replayed in due course.”
The replay date for the بطولة clash has not been announced yet, and it is not yet known whether it will be fulfilled in its entirety or from just the point the initial match was stopped.
