Charlotte FC has a new date with Columbus after lightning storm foiled first meeting
Charlotte FC has rescheduled a pivotal match in conference play.
Major League Soccer announced Tuesday that CFC’s match against Columbus Crew — originally slated for this past weekend before inclement weather postponed the match — would resume play on Oct. 5 at Bank of America Stadium.
The first attempt to play this game witnessed unrelenting rain and lightning but also unrelenting fandom: Supporters of the Queen City team sheltered in the stadium’s concourse area for a total of a little over four hours on Saturday. They first waited three hours for the match to begin. And then, 16 minutes into the first half, lightning began again, sparking another hour-long wait before MLS ultimately pulled the plug on the contest.
The match will recommence with the same players on the field and substitutes available as when the match was originally postponed, per MLS policy. It’ll also begin in the 16th minute because that is when the game was halted on Saturday.
Q&A about new Charlotte FC vs DC United match
Can fans who had tickets to Saturday’s game get tickets to the game in October if they can’t go?
Saturday tickets are valid for the match in October. If fans can’t go, they can reach out to the CFC ticketing department at https://www.charlottefootballclub.com/tickets/.
Why is the match on a Wednesday instead of a Saturday, as originally scheduled?
MLS ultimately rescheduled the match — much like they ultimately postponed the match — so the club can’t speak on why the game was scheduled when, a spokesperson told The Observer. That said, the match appears to come at an opportune time, splitting up what would’ve been an eight-day break before the team’s final and penultimate regular-season contest.
Why are they restarting in the 16th minute?
League policy. That’s when the game was halted on Saturday.
What happens if the players who were in Saturday’s game are no longer available on the new match day?
Per MLS rules, any player in-play at the time the match was postponed who is “subsequently injured or unavailable due to a trade, loan or transfer” can only be replaced by “a substitute on the official match roster of the postponed match.” (There are exceptions for goalkeepers.) Such substitutes will not count against a team’s normally allotted substitutions or one of their three substitution events.
For the full 2022 MLS match delay, postponement, cancellation and forfeiture policy, visit the MLS website.
