Rain hits Poland-England World Cup qualifier

16 October 2012 20:17

Heavy rain on Tuesday cast doubt on Poland's crunch 2014 World Cup qualifier against England in Warsaw.

After an early evening cloud-burst failed to let up, Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi ordered a delay to the planned 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) kick off in the Polish capital's Kazimierz Gorski Stadium, pending a new pitch inspection.

Apparently fearing the match would be abandoned outright, Poland's fiercely-partisan crowd made their disapproval clear with a hail of catcalls and whistling.

It was not immediately clear why the retractable roof of the 58,000 capacity arena -- which is also used as a concert venue -- had not been closed.

The stadium was purpose built for Euro 2012, which Poland hosted in June along with neighbouring Ukraine.

Source: AFP