Show food poisoning the red card
Confusion reigned before a 1963 La Liga clash between Real Betis and Valencia, when a less-than-satisfactory pre-game snack made both the referee and a linesman violently sick.
With the unfortunate duo returning to the sanctity of the changing room throne, the reserve officials were summoned. But the problems weren’t over yet: the replacements got stuck in traffic and couldn’t make it to the stadium, leading to the abandonment of the encounter.
Explosive performance
When an unexploded Second World War bomb was found on a building site close to Bramall Lane in 1985, Sheffield United had no choice but to call off their match with Oldham. Not that they were too disgruntled by the situation: the Blades were suffering from an injury crisis at the time, with the three-day adjournment helping several players recover before a 2-0 win in the rearranged game.
There was no hint of foul play on the part of United, though, with 330 people evacuated from their homes while experts defused the 1000kg device.
Shoreham’s travelling problems
“We’re very nervous and angry about the situation,” tweeted Shoreham FC when a group of travellers decided to camp outside their stadium in 2013, forcing the postponement of their Sussex County League Division One meeting with Lingfield.
A local MP intervened to try and move the contingent of 50 caravans on, but the area was only cleared when the police turned up a few days later. “There wasn't much you could do about it with travellers on the pitch,” said the philosophical Lingfield manager.
Total eclipse of the game
With Torquay due to host Portsmouth on 11 August 1999, Devon police nudged the game back a week, deciding they didn’t have sufficient man power to cope with the match and the expected influx of visitors to witness the impending solar eclipse.
It was, in fairness, the first total eclipse since 1927, and the seaside town was considered by many to be the perfect location to mark the occasion. Rumours that the local officers first tried to postpone the moon passing between the sun and earth are unfounded.
“Have you seen the leccy bill?”
“Brigg Town Football Club bar and facilities are closed while we sort out electrical problems… this situation could not have been foreseen and we will endeavour to be open as soon as is realistic,” the club announced after the adjournment of their Northern Counties East League clash with Athersley Recreation in 2016.
The principal problem – an unpaid bill dating back to 2010 – stood at a hefty £1,000, but chairman Simon Harris insisted: “We hope to have paid off our debts shortly. I’ve been bowled over by the generosity of people who’ve pledged donations.”
Plenty of room on top
You would think that keeping track of your stadium’s capacity would be an easy enough task, largely because the figure rarely changes – and if it does, the cranes and scaffolding would probably give it away.
Yet Scottish lower-league side Elgin City somehow forgot their ground could only hold 4520 fans head of their game against giants Rangers in 2012. When the club shifted an additional 1100 tickets, the match had to be called off on grounds of health and safety.
Down in the sewers
Having finished second in the First Division, been knocked out in the FA Cup at the third-round stage and lost the League Cup Final in 1986-87, Liverpool will determined to make amends the following campaign. Yet the prospect of a quick start to the campaign was damaged when Kenny Dalglish’s side were ordered to play their first three games away from Anfield.
The reason? A Victorian sewer beneath the Kop collapsed in August and required emergency repairs. The Reds collected seven points from nine on the road, before going on to win the title ahead of Manchester United.
Mucking in at Kings Lynn
“We were told to stay at home and close all the windows,” a Kings Lynn player told the Norfolk press after the postponement of the Linnets’ Eastern Counties League clash with nearby Gorleston in September 1937.
A group of local farmers were responsible for the rescheduling, with their over-zealous muck spreading having left a noxious stench lingering in the air. “It would have been like playing football in a giant cesspit,” complained the Kings Lynn manager. And no one wants that.
“That’s sh*t, and you know it is”
“Of course we couldn’t play football on that pitch,” blasted the irate Sport Huascar manager in January 1921. “There was pig faeces everywhere.”
The Peruvian lower-league clash with Saenz Penahad had to be put back a day when the marauding swine escaped from a local farm and ran amok across the pitch. “The players stank to high heaven thanks to all that s**t,” squealed the same Huascar boss 24 hours later.
A song for Sweden
Keen to juggle both a football and a fledgling singing career, Irish midfielder Kevin Walker faced a dilemma when his scheduled appearance on Swedish Pop Idol in 2013 clashed with Sundsvall’s Second Division meeting with Assyriska.
TV4, who owned the broadcast rights to both the football and the talent show, came to his rescue and switched the former. Supporters weren’t happy, but Walker was vindicated when he was crowned winner of the competition.
