Blackburn Rovers Championship Fixture Against Ipswich Town to be Replayed
Blackburn Rovers' Championship match against Ipswich Town will be replayed in full after it was abandoned on Saturday.
The game was halted in the 79th minute due to heavy rainfall at Ewood Park, rendering the playing surface unplayable. Blackburn was leading 1-0 at the time, thanks to a penalty converted by Todd Cantwell in the second half.
Ipswich was playing with ten men following the red card issued to Jacob Greaves.
In a statement, the English Football League (EFL) announced that a board meeting thoroughly evaluated all possible options in accordance with regulations. It was decided by a majority vote that the match should be replayed in its entirety.
"The decision follows recent precedents concerning abandoned fixtures and aims to maintain the integrity of the league competition, which should, whenever possible, be based on a complete set of fixtures played to conclusion on the day," the statement read.
The board acknowledged the difficulty of this decision and agreed to consult with clubs regarding the development of new guidance for future match abandonments.
Additionally, the EFL noted that three directors from the Championship abstained from the vote. A new date for the fixture will be announced by the respective clubs in due course.
Earlier in the week, Blackburn manager Valerien Ismael suggested that awarding his team three points following the abandonment would have been the "fairest outcome." He stated in an interview on the club's YouTube channel, "We have the right to seek the three points, especially since the opponent was down to ten men. Eleven versus eleven is a different situation. We clearly had the advantage, and the data shows we were in control since the red card."
A match can only be postponed or abandoned with the approval of the referee, authorities, or under police orders. If a Premier League or EFL game is abandoned after kick-off but before 90 minutes have been played, the outcome will be determined as follows:
Counted as a completed match, with points awarded based on the time of abandonment.
Replayed partially or in its entirety.
The Premier League and EFL boards will decide the outcome based on the score at the time of abandonment, the number of minutes played, the cause of the abandonment, and whether the club or its supporters were at fault.
More updates to follow.