Chelsea manager lashes out at Club World Cup organisers after yet another weather delay

A giant screen informs on weather delay at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on June 28. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED Jun 29, 2025, 05:03 PM

Thanks for sharing!

CHARLOTTE – Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca lashed out at the two-hour weather delay that disrupted his team’s Club World Cup victory over Benfica in Charlotte, North Carolina, on June 28, suggesting the tournament should be played elsewhere in future.

His comments come a year before football’s biggest event, the World Cup, is hosted in the US, Canada and Mexico in 2026.

Chelsea powered into the quarter-finals at Bank of America Stadium after defeating Benfica 4-1 in extra-time after a game that took 4hr 39mins to complete, following a two-hour stoppage due to a storm warning.

It was the sixth time that a game has been halted at the tournament due to widely used rules in the US that require outdoor sporting events to be halted if there is a chance of lightning.

Maresca said afterwards the number of games that had been disrupted should prompt a rethink.

“For me personally, it’s not football,” the Chelsea boss said. “It’s already (six) games they suspended here. I think it’s a joke. It’s not football.

“It’s completely amazing, it’s completely something new that I struggle to understand.

“I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven or eight games, that means that probably this is not the right place to do this competition.”

Chelsea had been poised to wrap up victory after Reece James’s second-half free-kick left them 1-0 up with four minutes left to play.

But the storm warning forced the players off the field and it was nearly two hours before play resumed.

“It was one of the best performances of the last few weeks,” Maresca said.

“The game was very good for 85 minutes, then we stopped for two hours, and when we started it was a completely different game. It’s not the same game because you break the tempo.”

Angel di Maria equalised in the fifth minute of added time when the game resumed but the Blues eventually advanced thanks to extra-time goals via Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Maresca emphasised that he remained a fan of the Club World Cup, which was expanded to 32 teams for the first time in 2025, and is being held in the US as an informal dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

“It’s a fantastic competition. It’s the Club World Cup, all the best clubs are here,” he said.

“But six, seven games suspended? It’s not normal. In a World Cup how many have they suspended? Probably zero. In a European (Championship), how many games? Zero. There is some problem.”

Off the pitch, Chelsea are set to add England Under-21 international winger Jamie Gittens to their forward line after agreeing a deal with Borussia Dortmund, according to reports on June 28.

Sky Sports said an agreement has been reached between the clubs, who are both competing at the Club World Cup in the United States.

The Blues will reportedly pay up to €65 million (S$97.2 million) for the 20-year-old, who had been in Chelsea’s academy as a youth player.

Gittens eventually moved to Manchester City’s academy before signing for Dortmund in 2022.

He made 107 appearances for the German giants, scoring 17 goals, 12 of which came in the Bundesliga and Champions League last season.

Chelsea will now return to Philadelphia, where they played two games in the group stage, to play Palmeiras in the quarter-finals on July 4.

The Brazilian club were grateful to an extra-time winner by substitute Paulinho as they edged domestic rivals Botafogo 1-0 in a battle of attrition earlier on June 28 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The winger came on at the same time in the second half as Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira withdrew teenage sensation Estevao Willian, a move that appeared baffling in the moment but ultimately proved inspired.

The tie had reached the 100th minute without a goal when Paulinho collected a pass by Richard Rios on the right flank and was afforded the time and space to come inside into the box before slotting a low shot into the far corner.

That sparked wild celebrations among the Palmeiras fans who made up the vast majority of the 33,657 crowd, and the side from Sao Paulo held on to win the tie despite having captain Gustavo Gomez sent off late on.

“That is why he came, so he could play for long enough to decide a game. He is going to have to stop again after the tournament,” Ferreira said of Paulinho, who has struggled with injury since signing for Palmeiras at the start of the 2025. AFP

More on this Topic

Join  ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Thanks for sharing!