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The EFL have received widespread criticism after announcing that the game between Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town will be replayed in full.
Last weekend, Blackburn Rovers’ game against Ipswich Town was abandoned due to heavy rainfall, with Blackburn leading the game 1-0 when it was called off with 10 minutes to play.
Since, the EFL have announced that the game will be replayed in full: starting from 0-0 with Todd Cantwell’s goal taken off, although Jacob Greaves’ red card and subsequent suspension for Ipswich Town remains.
Inevitably, the decision has angered a lot of Blackburn Rovers fans and caused a huge debate among football fans on social media.
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Henry Winter on EFL’s controversial Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town decision
Posting on X, esteemed journalist Henry Winter has commented on the matter. Like many others, he says the ruling is ‘very harsh’ on Blackburn, adding that the ‘fairest decision would surely have been to replicate situation when game abandoned’.
Interestingly, Winter goes on to beg the question of whether Blackburn could seek legal advice at the end of the season, should they miss out on a spot in the play-offs by three or less points for example, whilst also pondering what will happen to the fans’ money that went towards tickets and travel and so on.
An excerpt of Winter’s full post (see below) reads: “If Ipswich win the replayed game, and Rovers just miss out on a play-off place (especially if they miss out to Ipswich), will lawyers be scrambled to recoup potential lost earnings?”
Valerien Ismael clear on outcome of Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town
Inevitably, Blackburn Rovers will feel very hard done by with this decision. Currently they sit in 18th place of the Championship table having now played a game less than everybody else, but another three points on their total would have them in 11th right now.
Speaking before the EFL’s decision, Ismael gave his thoughts on the Blackburn vs Ipswich outcome, saying: “I think for us we’ve got the right to want the three points in that situation because I think it’s the fair thing to do, especially when the opponent is down to ten.
“11 v 11 is another situation, but this situation was clear, we were in a clear advantage. The statistics, the data, everything shows that we were on the front foot since the red card.”
Now though, the EFL have made their decision and it’s highly unlikely they’ll revert their decision. As Winter suggests, Blackburn Rovers may want to seek some kind of compensation over the decision, especially if it comes back to haunt them later this season.