The Croatian Rijeka is a popular holiday destination and the region is famous for its dream beaches, but on Thursday evening the city on the northern Adriatic showed its inhospitable side.
Due to persistent rain and storms, the Conference League game between Croatian champions HNK Rijeka and Sparta Prague had to be canceled at halftime. It is scheduled to continue on Friday.
After around a quarter of an hour, the referee had to interrupt the game, which had started at 6:45 p.m. It didn’t resume until 9pm, but the rain didn’t let up. Wind and fog made conducting the encounter even more difficult.
Two lightning strikes: referee ends the game
The pitch was littered with puddles and the first half “ended shortly after half past nine with two lightning strikes,” according to Sparta’s website. The referee then ended the game.
“It was already clear at the beginning of the day that the weather could have a major impact on our second game in the league phase of the Conference League,” wrote Prague: “And that’s what happened in the end.”
