Costa Rica will be lodging a protest with world soccer governing body FIFA on the playing conditions during last Friday’s World Cup qualifier when they lost 0-1 to United States under a blanket of snow.
With inches of snow covering up the field lines, the game should have been cancelled, Costa Rica’s football federation Fedefutbol said in a press release. Fedefutbol said it will submit its formal protest to FIFA, reports Xinhua .
The game, played at Colorado’s Commerce City, U.S., was briefly suspended while game directors discussed the snow’s interference in play and visibility, but finally continued.
“The president of Fedefutbol, Eduardo Li, and Rodolfo Villalobos, a representative, tried all means to suspend the match,” Fedefutbol said.
Fedefutbol said the failure to call off the game despite the piles of snow falling on the field “is unprecedented,” and goes against not just the sport, but also the players and referees, who were unable to clearly see the game or to move about the field without slipping and sliding.
The organisation also pointed out that FIFA’s official website has posted an article on the game that acknowledges the snow worked to the advantage of the US team, which garnered three points with its win.
