Ex-Fifa official: Rangers under pressure after nightmare development
It was the right decision to abandon Rangers’ pre-season friendly with Sunderland last week (9 July) due to a failure with the floodlights, according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee claimed the situation was a nightmare for any official.
Sunderland were winning 1-0 at half-time out in Portugal but the game was not able to continue due to a power outage.
The Gers released a statement after the game confirming any fans who had bought tickets or streaming passes were entitled to a refund.
Asked if the situation was a nightmare for officials, Hackett told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “Yes, it is.
“Some years ago I was in Portugal and watched a league game and Braga were the home team. During that game, there were three floodlight failures so one suggests it’s not uncommon to have floodlight failure in Portugal.
“Referees, like the players, are there to get through a game. Particularly in pre-season they want the game to finish.
“They will have made every effort to get the floodlights kicked up and running again. Sometimes, it doesn’t happen that way. Sometimes, once they’ve gone down they stay down for quite some time.
“What Uefa do, and I used to smile, always check in their pre-match schedule to see if there’s a generator available for this very reason.
“It’s the sort of stuff that puts pressure on the club because fans do not get value for money. Not only do the club suffer, the players and the referee but the spectators do.”
In other news, Rangers are finalising the signing of a £60,000-a-week star.