Maresca criticizes weather-related delays at the Club World Cup: “It’s a joke”

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca expressed his discontent with the choice of the United States as the host of the Club World Cup and called the two-hour weather delay in his team’s victory over Benfica “a joke.” The “Blues” secured their place in the quarter-finals against Palmeiras with a 4-1 victory after extra time, in a match that suffered the second longest interruption due to weather in the competition. Chelsea were leading 1-0 thanks to Reece James’ free kick in the 64th minute, before Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic stopped the match due to lightning in the area, with four minutes remaining in regulation time. After the restart, when many of the 25,929 spectators had already left, Benfica was awarded a penalty in added time for a handball by Malo Gusto. Ángel Di María equalized from the penalty spot to force a 30-minute extension. After the red card to Benfica’s winger Gianluca Prestianni in the 92nd minute, Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored in extra time, but Maresca did not hide his frustration over the logistical problems. The match on Saturday was the sixth Club World Cup encounter to suffer an interruption due to weather conditions.

We didn’t concede anything, we created enough opportunities to win the match. And then, after the break, the game completely changed. I think, personally, that’s not football. It’s already seven, eight, nine matches that have been suspended. I think it’s a joke, to be honest, it’s not football. It’s not for us. You can’t be inside [for so long].

Enzo Maresca, Chelsea coach

Maresca continued explaining his point of view on the game interruptions. “It’s something completely new, but I find it hard to understand. I can understand that, for security reasons, the match has to be suspended. But if seven or eight matches are suspended, that means it’s probably not the right place to hold this competition.” When asked if the interruptions were detrimental to the competition, Maresca added: “Please, don’t misunderstand me. I said it’s a fantastic competition. It’s the Club World Cup. It’s the best. We are happy to be among the last eight. We are happy to win all these kinds of things.” But something is happening, six, seven suspended matches, probably the ones that decide, they need a reason, because it’s not normal to suspend a match. In a World Cup, how many matches are suspended? Zero, probably. In Europe, how many matches? Zero. We are here, two weeks, six, seven games have already been suspended. There is some problem for me personally. But I speak like a coach. Because when you’re inside for two hours, you try to keep them in the game, but for two hours, they’re talking to family outside for safety reasons. They’re eating something, they’re playing, they’re laughing. How can you keep them inside for two hours, focused? It’s a joke. That’s why I said it. Then we are happy. We are happy to be here. We are happy to be in this competition. But it’s something that is not normal.