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Folks take photographs of rainwater pouring from the roof of the stadium because the match is suspended attributable to opposed climate in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Martin Meissner)
Followers dance within the rain whereas a spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event is suspended in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Followers dance within the rain whereas a spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event is suspended in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Federico Gambarini/dpa by way of AP)
Heavy rain falls on the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lightning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Heavy rain falls on the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lightning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Gamers depart the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lighning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Martin Meissner)
Folks take photographs of rainwater pouring from the roof of the stadium because the match is suspended attributable to opposed climate in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Martin Meissner)
Folks take photographs of rainwater pouring from the roof of the stadium because the match is suspended attributable to opposed climate in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Martin Meissner)
Followers dance within the rain whereas a spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event is suspended in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Followers dance within the rain whereas a spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event is suspended in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Followers dance within the rain whereas a spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event is suspended in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Federico Gambarini/dpa by way of AP)
Followers dance within the rain whereas a spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event is suspended in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Federico Gambarini/dpa by way of AP)
Heavy rain falls on the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lightning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Heavy rain falls on the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lightning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Heavy rain falls on the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lightning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Heavy rain falls on the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lightning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Hassan Ammar)
Gamers depart the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lighning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Martin Meissner)
Gamers depart the pitch after the referee paused the match attributable to a thunder and lighning storm in the course of the spherical of sixteen match between Germany and Denmark on the Euro 2024 soccer event in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photograph/Martin Meissner)
DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — A thunderstorm and hail suspended the Germany-Denmark round-of-16 conflict on the European Championship and compelled the gamers again below cowl on Saturday.
One one who knew simply how necessary it was to maintain the gamers secure was Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was assistant coach of the Nordsjaelland staff when certainly one of its gamers, Jonathan Richter, was struck by lightning throughout a recreation in 2009.
Richter spent 11 days in a coma and needed to have the decrease a part of his left leg amputated.
“I used to be not afraid however I used to be taking care of the safety of the gamers. Sure, I used to be concerned in a match at a stadium the place the lightning hit certainly one of our gamers,” Hjulmand mentioned.
“This lightning was straight over Sign Iduna Park (the Dortmund stadium). I noticed my gamers react very a lot and it was the precise factor to do to name it off.”
Referee Michael Oliver took the groups off within the thirty fifth minute. When the climate cleared, the groups had a quick warmup and the sport resumed 24 minutes after it had stopped. The slippery discipline started to chop up however remained playable for the remainder of the sport.
Germany eventually won 2-0 for a spot within the quarterfinals, the place it would play Spain or Georgia in Stuttgart on July 5.
The rating was 0-0 when the referee took the gamers off with rain pouring, excessive winds and repeated lightning strikes close to the Westfalenstadion. A loud bang resounded across the stadium shortly earlier than the gamers had been taken off.
Hail was even falling on the sphere in the course of the interruption in a stark distinction to the beforehand heat summer time night.
“Because of opposed climate situations the match has been suspended. Additional info will observe shortly,” learn an announcement on the stadium screens.
Followers within the entrance rows of the stadium’s famed South Stand moved below cowl because the gale blew torrents of rain onto their seats and water cascaded off the sting of the roof. Some German followers sang: “Oh, how pretty it’s,” and some Danish supporters danced in a torrent of water falling on their space of the stands.
Native police mentioned two big-screen viewing events in native fan zones in Dortmund had been canceled due to the climate. “Please depart these areas,” police wrote on X. Two extra fan zone occasions in close by Gelsenkirchen had been additionally referred to as off because the sturdy winds broken fences and hurled objects via the air, native authorities mentioned, including they weren’t conscious of any accidents.
Extreme climate occasions have been an everyday drawback for UEFA and European Championship organizers rather more than for FIFA and the World Cup.
In 2008, co-host Switzerland performed a group-stage recreation in opposition to Turkey via heavy rain within the first half at Basel. Puddles within the Turkey goalmouth helped Switzerland take the lead because the ball was stopped by the standing water for Hakan Yakin to faucet in his shot.
Rain subsided and the puddles had been largely eliminated at halftime however the St. Jakob Park taking part in floor survived just one extra recreation — one other wet affair between Switzerland and Portugal — earlier than it needed to be relaid forward of the quarterfinals.
The operation to herald a brand new turf from the Netherlands price UEFA 200,000 euros ($214,000), it was reported on the time.
Heavy rains affected one other co-host staff at Euro 2012. Ukraine’s recreation in opposition to France in Donetsk was stopped after simply 5 minutes of play by referee Björn Kuipers. Simply when it appeared the groups must come again the following day to renew play at Donbas Area, rain abated and the groups restarted after a 56-minute pause.
The impact on the tv scheduled meant the next recreation that day — Sweden vs England in Kyiv — was pushed again by quarter-hour.
In France, a Euro 2016 recreation was suspended for a number of minutes by a hail storm in Lyon, the Northern Eire and Ukraine gamers coming off the sphere within the 58th minute.
One of many Euro 2016 stadiums did get a brand new Dutch-grown discipline laid earlier than the quarterfinals after weeks of persistent rain and little sunshine in Lille.
Steve Douglas in Dortmund, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Graham Dunbar in Frankfurt contributed.
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
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