Soccer-Club World Cup match resumes after storm threat interruption
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., (Reuters) -The Club World Cup clash between Al Ahly of Egypt and Brazil's Palmeiras resumed after a 50-minute halt at the MetLife Stadium on Thursday because of a severe weather threat, the second time a match has been interrupted during the tournament.
Referee Anthony Taylor told the teams to leave the pitch immediately after Palmeiras had taken a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute of their Group A clash after advice from a pitchside official at the 82,500-capacity stadium which will host next year's World Cup final.
Repeated announcements over the stadium public address system told the public to leave their seats and take shelter inside the stadium concourse because of the threat of 'severe weather', although fans were slow to move out. Police had to persuade some spectators to move.
There was no visible weather threat above the stadium, save for a batch of dark clouds in the distance on a hot and sunny day.
After 30 minutes, an announcement said 'the situation has now been resolved and it is all clear and safe to return to your seats'. The game then restarted after the teams were allowed to warm up briefly.
The weather forecast for the New York area on Thursday had predicted afternoon showers, but only after the completion of the match, which kicked off at midday local time.
A heat wave is forecast across the eastern United States and expected to bring severe storms and several days of record high temperatures at the start of the weekend and into next week.
The start of the Group F match in Orlando on Tuesday between South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns and Ulsan of South Korea was delayed by 65 minutes because of the threat of lightning.
Potentially dangerous weather conditions are closely monitored during sports events in the U.S. and interruptions and postponements are not uncommon.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson; editing by Toby Davis and Pritha Sarkar)
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