Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca is angry that the World Cup match against Benfica in Charlotte, USA, was stopped for almost two hours on Saturday due to a storm. The Italian thinks it’s crazy that so many matches have been temporarily suspended due to a weather alert.
Chelsea won 4-1 against Benfica after extra time. The match was stopped in the 86th minute due to a storm within 10 kilometers of the stadium. The Londoners eventually won 4 hours and 38 minutes after the first whistle.
The round of 16 match in Charlotte was already the sixth World Cup match to be temporarily suspended due to weather conditions. “I don’t think this is football anymore,” said an angry Maresca at the closing press conference.
“So many games have now been stopped due to the weather. This is a joke. This has nothing to do with the sport. Surely you can’t sit inside for hours? I find it difficult to have understanding for this.”
“I can understand that we have to go inside for safety reasons and that the match is suspended for a while. But if that happens in so many matches, it probably means that this is not the right place to organize this tournament.”
Heat also a concern at World Cup
Maresca emphasized that he thinks the Club World Cup is a “fantastic tournament”, but called the number of suspended matches abnormal. “How many matches were stopped at the last World Cup? Probably zero. And at the last European Championship? Also zero.”
Prior to the Club World Cup, there were already concerns about the weather conditions in the United States. In addition to possible storms, there was also talk about the heat. Temperatures of more than 30 degrees are measured in some places.
Many players and coaches have already complained about the heat in some venues. The substitutes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund even decided to sit inside during a match to escape the heat.
Next year the World Cup for countries is scheduled in the USA. The country is organizing this tournament together with neighboring countries Canada and Mexico.