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Germany were on top against Denmark in their round-of-16 meeting in Dortmund.
However, with the game still goalless after 36 minutes, English referee Michael Oliver led both sides from the pitch.
Here The Athletic explains the situation, what football’s rules are and how rare such an incident is.
What happened?
After several days of hot weather, the skies above the Signal Iduna Park had been gathering throughout the evening. Earlier in the day, several fan zones were closed by German authorities due to the storm risk.
Thunder and lightning could be heard from afar, with the rain arriving after 32 minutes.
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Soon after, lightning flashes could be seen from inside the stadium, with two to three ear-splitting cracks of thunder.
Around 30 seconds after the loudest clap, Oliver led the teams from the pitch with Germany in possession. Initially, they sheltered in their dug-outs, before the rain intensified and they moved inside to their changing rooms.
Large hailstones then rained down for two to three minutes.
How long was the game suspended?
The suspension lasted for around 24 minutes — with preparations to restart occurring as soon as the lighting had moved out of the area. Players reemerged from their changing rooms five minutes before the resumption and waited momentarily for groundstaff to test the pitch.
At the start of the second half, Oliver appeared to speak to both captains again after thunder was heard in the distance.
What are the rules?
Referees have the discretion to halt play if conditions are ever deemed unsafe — with the risk of a lightning strike on the pitch falling squarely into that category. In theory, it is entirely the referee’s choice — although they might be fed advice by their linesmen or fourth official.
If the weather had been so bad that the game had to be suspended overnight, UEFA regulations dictate that it is played the next day at the same venue, if necessary without spectators. There will also be an emergency backup venue, in case the reason for the suspension made the original stadium unfit to host.
What were the crowd told?
As soon as the game was suspended, a UEFA message flashed up on the screen which read: “Due to bad weather conditions the match has been suspended. Further information will follow shortly.”
The message was displayed in three languages — German, Danish, and English.
What other issues did the storm create?
There were waterfalls coming off the roof of the stadium ahead of Georgia’s meeting with Turkey on the opening weekend of the tournament amidst heavy rain.
That was repeated on Saturday night amidst even worse weather conditions — with three large waterfalls falling from the roof onto fans. The worst of these was directly over the Danish end, near the German TV studios — several Denmark fans took the opportunity to dance shirtless in the rain.
The vibes are still high for these Denmark fans 😄🕺 pic.twitter.com/2OLcOcFSwk
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) June 29, 2024
Due to the intensity of the rain, groundstaff needed to ensure the pitch was not waterlogged — but those checks only led to a delay of less than five minutes once the lightning abated.
Is this common at football games?
This is not the first time it has happened at the Euros. Twelve years ago, at Euro 2012, a group stage match between hosts Ukraine and France was suspended in the fifth minute due to lightning. On that occasion, referee Bjorn Kuipers kept the players off the pitch for 58 minutes. As a result, the following match, between England and Sweden, kicked off 15 minutes later than planned.
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Back in 2009, a professional in the Danish top flight, Jonathan Richter, was struck by lightning while playing in a training match for FC Nordsjaelland. He was in a coma for almost two weeks, and ultimately needed to have his lower leg amputated.
More recently, a game between Real Salt Lake and LAFC in Utah was suspended this March after just four minutes when lightning was seen near the stadium. Major League Soccer (MLS) has a mandatory 30-minute postponement.
Generally, lighting delays are a much more common sight in golf — where the players are more exposed on more open areas of land. For example, the Travelers Championship last week was suspended twice due to storms.
(Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
