USA vs. Costa Rica: Game stopped briefly
As the conditions get worse in Denver, the referee is struggling to make a decision about whether or not the United States and Costa Rica can finish their World Cup qualifier. With the U.S. up 1-0 in the 55th minute, the referee opted to stop play, and the lines were cleared off.
Let’s just say that it’s easy to see why the referee has considered stopping this one on multiple occasions.
There appeared to be a discussion between the officials and the match commissioner about whether or not to stop the game, but play has resumed. It’s tough to blame the referee for considering calling the game off, but it’s tough to figure out why the referee opted to start the second half if he’s considering calling this one off.
It’s not entirely clear what will happen if the game cannot be completed. Normal procedure is to replay a game from the start, with any goals wiped off the board if it has to be abandoned. However, Ian Darke stated on the ESPN broadcast that U.S. Soccer and the match commissioner indicated that the game could resume tomorrow from the point it was stopped.
