Pundit Weighs In On Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town Debate

talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan believes there was no alternative but to replay last weekend’s abandoned fixture between Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town in full.

Blackburn looked on course to pick up their third victory in a row when play was halted at Ewood Park due to a waterlogged pitch. Rovers were 1-0 up with 10 minutes remaining, whilst Ipswich were down to 10 men after defender Jacob Greaves was sent off in the second half.

In the aftermath, Blackburn boss Valerien Ismael claimed that his side should be awarded the win due to the data suggesting that ‘they were on the front foot after the red card’. However, the EFL confirmed earlier today that the game will be replayed in full at a later date.

Jordan Insists Replay Only Option

Speaking on talkSPORT prior to the announcement, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan insisted that a replay was the only option the EFL could consider:

“Well it doesn’t require his agreement, it’s not his decision to make.

“There is an irony about this because there is precedent for this in 1997 which included Blackburn.

“They were beating Wimbledon 2-0, and, after 35 minutes, the game was abandoned for weather and the game was replayed.

“There’s a part of me that thinks it’s inherently unfair that a side who is winning 1-0 against a team who are down to 10 men that’s likely to be in the ascendancy and win the game is now going to be penalised, but probably the rules need to be tighter, harder and faster.

“This is a no-fault abandonment, there’s no fault from the supporters and no fault from the players, the team or the club. In a no-fault abandonment stage, they should be much harder and faster on the rules.

“It should simply be ‘we have to replay it’. It’s not a completed fixture.

“With due respect to the amount of time that’s played in injury time and the amount of goals that are scored in injury time, there’s a distinct possibility that, despite the fact the statistics suggest that, at that moment in time, for the argument that Valerien wants to advance, they were in the ascendancy, there’s no guarantee.

“You can’t be half pregnant, the game isn’t finished until it’s finished, is it?

“With that in mind, I think, without wanting to be disrespectful to Blackburn and the inherent unfairness they will feel out of it, you have to maintain some degree of order.

“You can’t have it half-baked, you can’t have a situation where a game wasn’t completed and a result was determined because it becomes a dangerous precedent.”

Writer’s View

There’s little doubt that Blackburn will be incredibly frustrated, as evidenced in the statement they released shortly after the decision was confirmed. However, the EFL have made the right call. Yes, Blackburn were looking good value to pick up the three points but there was absolutely no guarantee. For Ipswich, it offers them a fresh opportunity to put things right and get their promotion bid back on course.