Fans slam ‘farcical’ decision as non-league game ordered to be replayed in FULL despite being abandoned in 96TH MINUTE
FANS have slammed the “farcical” decision for Scunthorpe vs Buxton to be REPLAYED despite the game being abandoned in the 96th minute of playing time.
The match was abandoned in the dying embers of the game with Buxton leading 2-1 due to a torrential downpour.
A National League statement said: “The fixture will be rescheduled in full.
“The matter was considered thoroughly, with the outcome decided in line with National League regulations and previous occurrences of this nature. A new date for the game will be announced by the clubs in due course.”
But Buxton have disputed the decision and said they should be awarded all three points as they led with just four minutes of added time remaining.
Buxton boss Craig Elliott said the 10 minutes of added time was in part due to interruptions caused by objects allegedly thrown at their goalkeeper.
Boss Elliot told BBC Radio Derby that the game was ended “abruptly” without consultation with either manager.
He said: “[The referee] literally had a quick word with his linesman, blew the whistle and ran down the tunnel.
“I think that was the most disappointing thing for me, the lack of communication, he could easily have had a word with us both.
“He could even have called us into his room after the game and said this is what’s happening or this is what we’re going to do moving forward.
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“For us all to be left wondering what was going on was really disappointing.”
The manager continued by saying that he felt that the postponement was unnecessary, saying: “I think the referee could have played the last few minutes, bad as the conditions were, or at least said ‘let’s give it 15 minutes’.
“The rain did stop and we could have played the remaining four minutes.
“The fans were still in the stadium 10, 15 minutes after the game because no-one knew what was going on.
“It’s absolute madness what happened. I’ve never been involved in anything quite as bad as that.”
Fans on Twitter fumed at the decision to call the game off with just four minutes left to play.
One fan said: “Absurd, whoever made the decision needs to be fired.”
Another wrote: “Most nonsensical thing I’ve ever heard in football. Ridiculous.”
A third commented: “What’s happening to the referee? Having read both sides he absolutely made a complete farce of it, no communication no try and finish with a break.
“No doubt he took his fees and will be on duty again shortly.”
A fourth chimed in by saying: “Absolute disgrace.”