Sydney FC awarded win after abandoned match

Sydney FC has been awarded a 2-0 victory over Canberra United after their Round 9 Ninja A-League Women match was abandoned due to extreme weather conditions. The match, played on Wednesday, January 15, at Leichhardt Oval, was halted in the 54th minute with Sydney leading 2-0.

The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) enforced its Lightning Policy, which suspends play when lightning is detected within a 10km radius. Lightning strikes within 500m of the venue caused a delay of over an hour and a venue power outage. Following a review of the circumstances and submissions from both clubs, the APL confirmed the match would not be rescheduled, with the result at the time of abandonment standing as the final score.

“The determination of whether or not a match will be rescheduled is at the discretion of the league,” the APL explained. “This decision aligns with precedents set in similar cases where extreme weather forced match abandonments.”

Precedent examples include:

• 2010 Ninja A-League Women: Canberra United vs Adelaide United (Canberra United awarded the win).
• 2015 Isuzu UTE A-League Men: Brisbane Roar vs Wellington Phoenix (Wellington Phoenix awarded the win).
• 2021 Isuzu UTE A-League Men: Sydney FC vs Perth Glory (Sydney FC awarded the win).

Canberra United CEO Samantha Farrow expressed frustration with the decision.

“While we have no choice but to accept the decision from the APL, we want to make it clear to our members and supporters that we did everything we could to get the match rescheduled,” Farrow said.

Sydney FC will now shift focus to their upcoming fixtures as they aim to build on the awarded win.

For more information on A-League regulations, visit www.aleagues.com.au.