Last week, the World Cup Qualifier between Wales and Belgium was halted after a rat found its way onto the pitch.
This inspired P4C’er Brad McCormick (of Cap-A-Pie Theatre Company) to email in and ask: After international match was stopped because of a rat, it made me wonder when does stopping a game for an animal end? A particularly large insect? Is it size that determines it, or something else?
So this week, we’ve created some activities about the ethics of halted play that anyone can get involved with.
Warm up: Should the game be stopped?
Go through the following animals and ask if a football match should be halted if one invaded the pitch.
Should a match be halted for…
- A squirrel?
- A cat?
- A frog?
- A doormouse? (does it change anyone’s mind to find out they’re endangered?)
- A dragonfly?
- A swarm of dragonflies?
- A dog? And to push everyone further… what if this happens….
Should the goal be awarded? Or does the dog’s presence on the pitch mean the match should’ve been stopped?
If you wish to stay on this activity a bit longer, it might be interesting to dig deeper into their reasons. What are the key factors behind their decision – the safety of the animal vs the safety of the players vs the integrity of the game?
Main activity: Should the score stand?
In each real-life example below, the abandonment of a match has sparked a debate on what should happen next – should the existing score stand, should it be replayed, or something else? We’ve included the outcome in each case – it’s up to you whether you hold it back until after the debate, or use it as a stimulus to ask if the right call was made.
Example 1:Â
In September 2025, a football match between Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town was abandoned after seventy-nine minutes due to torrential rain. The score at the time was 1-0 to Blackburn. Was the game close enough to the finish for the score to stand?
Outcome: Replay ordered (set for December 2nd – expect controversy if Ipswich win!)
General question: At what minute does a match become “complete enough” for a score to stand?
Example 2:
At half-time in a 2004 Champions League match, Dynamo Kiev led AS Roma 1-0. On his way to the changing rooms, the referee was hit by a coin thrown by an AS Roma fan. The referee was left with a wound and understandably abandoned the game. There was still half the game to go, and time to turn the result around, but as the coin was thrown from the AS Roma end, should the half-time score stand?
Outcome: UEFA awarded Dynamo Kyiv a 3-0 forfeit win.
General question: Should teams be punished for the behaviour of their fans?
Example 3:
Here we turn to a 2023Eliminator match in The Women’s Hundred (a domestic cricket competition in England). This between the 2nd placed team in the table, Northern Superchargers, and the 3rd place team, Welsh Fire, with the winner progressing to the final. The game was abandoned due to bad weather. At the point of abandonment, Welsh Fire were 104-2 after 75 balls (a healthy position). Officials said there was no time to replay the match because of the need to fit in the subsequent men’s eliminator. Given the league had already played out before the eliminator, should the score have stood?
Outcome: The Northern Superchargers advanced (by virtue of table finish) rather than playing out the game or replaying it.
General question: What’s more important here – the chance to complete this game, or giving the men’s match a chance to start?
What’s On in The Philosoverse?
This week, we’ve had a bit of a breather after a breathless two months since late August. Jason has been away in Mexico for a family wedding, and Tom’s been taking care of business back in the UK, including running our Third Monday of the Month Masterclass in collaboration with Thoughtful (formerly SAPERE).
You can sign up to the next one here – on Monday November 17th to tie in with World Philosophy Day.
We’re looking forward to being back working with schools over the next month – bookings see us going from Newcastle to Newport, London to Lincolnshire, Oxford to Essex, and then Jason’s off to the Czech Republic for some more international training.