What happens if Man Utd’s Champions League match cannot be finished?
MANCHESTER UNITED face a must-win Champions League encounter against Galatasaray – but there is a chance that the match will need to be replayed.
The Red Devils are currently bottom of the group and nothing less than three points would be enough to keep their last-16 hopes alive.
But Istanbul has been hit with torrential rain and wind which has caused fears the match could get called off mid-way.
And SunSport can clear up what would happen if this uncommon situation occurs.
What happens if Man Utd’s match cannot be finished?
UEFA regulations state that in the event of a match abandonment, “the full or remaining match time” should be played “on the next day”.
That means United staying in Istanbul overnight and returning to the Ali Sami Yen Stadium to play either the whole game or the remaining minutes tomorrow.
That last happened in the Champions League was in December 2020, when PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir players BOTH walked off the pitch after an alleged racist remark by the fourth official.
The remaining 67 minutes of the game were then played out the next day – although both “matches” were played behind closed doors because of pandemic restrictions.
Only if the pitch was deemed unplayable again tomorrow would United be given the green light to return home, with Uefa then fixing a new date for the match.
But one complication is that the group stage must be completed by December 13.
It means that if the game cannot be played, or completed, United would probably have to return to Turkey next week to get it completed before the scheduled final group match against Bayern Munich.
That, though, would mean Wednesday’s scheduled Prem home game against Chelsea having to be postponed, presumably until next year.
If the game IS played tomorrow, though, United would be likely to ask the Prem to postpone Saturday evening’s game at Newcastle, citing a lack of adequate preparation time.
Has this happened before?
Galatasaray have been in this predicament before as they had to play a restarted match against Juventus in 2013.
And the Turkish outfit prevailed as Wesley Sneijder’s late winner in snowy Istanbul sent Galatasaray into the last-16.
The fixture between the two European giants had to initially be abandoned after a snow storm caused the pitch to become unplayable.
It was a goalless draw in the first match.