11th August 1991
At Matt Busby’s Testimonial match, George Best appeared alongside Nobby Stiles, Bill Foulkes and Pat Crerand, in a 7-a-side match between ex-Manchester United and City stars which ended 3-3. In the main match Manchester United drew 1-1 with Jack Charlton’s Republic of Ireland side – 33,412 were at Old Trafford to pay tribute to Sir Matt.
The most bizarre postponement? The Worthington Cup (League Cup) tie between Torquay and Portsmouth scheduled for Wednesday August 11th 1999 was called off because of a total eclipse of the sun! No the problem wasn't that everything was going to go dark but the police deciding that they didn't have the manpower to police both the match and the influx of visitors expected in the area to witness the eclipse. The eclipse couldn't be put off - so the match was!
With waterlogged pitches the referee is the person who makes the decisions.
Some decisions might to open to debate, some perhaps not so as will be seen from the picture of Hillsborough after the River Don flooded. Carlisle United's Brunton Park is another League ground prone to flooding from a nearby river and the consequences are severe for the clubs affected by such flooding. Its not just a case of letting the ground dry but specialist cleaning is needed because of the amount of sludge left behind which is usually contaminated with raw sewage.
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