Final Round of Football Cancelled Due to Blizzards

The entire final fall round of football in the Polish league, scheduled for this weekend, has been cancelled on account of inclement weather as winter struck hard at the heart of Europe. The cancellation follows by one day the highly publicised match between Polish champions Lech Poznań and Juventus Turin, in which temperature reached below -12 and heavy snowfall created harsh, slippery conditions.

Problems with weather were having their effect on league matches as early as lst weekend, when Lech and Korona Kielce players struggled to keep their balance and connect with their passes in locally heavy snow. While temperatures are not expected to drop further, a large front of heavy snowfall has created havoc throughout the country, as traffic has slowed to a slippery crawl and the national air carrier, LOT Polish Airlines, cancelling over 25 domestic and international flights today.

The football matches, however, were called off largely because of concerns about conditions on the pitches and in the stands, as a representative of Polonia Warszawa announced that „the stadium on Konwiktorska is covered with a blacket of white. We’re counting on the round being postponed,“

Many in the Italian press have responded with fury at EUFA officials over the decision to allow Wednesday’s meeting between Juve and Lech to go on, citing that „the pitch was sprayed with a shower of needles“ and that the „pitch was as hard as marble.“ As a result of the draw, the Seria A superclub is eliminated from Europa League competition, and Lech is assured of at least second place and advancement from the group round.

The cancelled matches will be played on 25-27 February.