Arsenal Women’s WSL game against Brighton at Crawley on Sunday fell victim to the weather. The decision was communicated at 12.55pm, 95 minutes before kickoff. I became aware of the decision a few minutes before that from sitting next to the Brighton press officer.
I had arrived in the stadium at around 12.10 and rushed straight to the press box because I was certain a pitch inspection would be taking place. The rain had been pouring down for several hours (several weeks if we are honest, Saturday was the first day in 2026 that no rain fell in the south of England).
Sure enough, as I arrived I saw the plastic covers being removed from the field, there was essentially what looked and sounded like a giant hairdryer at one end of the pitch which was being turned off (I assume it had been on for most of the morning to try to dry the grass). The referee came on and moved to different vantage points of the pitch. Threw the ball up in the air and then rolled it around the ground.
Staff members from Brighton and Arsenal looked on. In the centre of the pitch and the goalmouths, the ball appeared to be holding up reasonably well but in the corners of the pitch and near the touchlines less so. I saw the referee in conversation with the other officials and staff members from Arsenal and Brighton and he pointed to the corners of the pitch as he had conducted his inspection, which told me the game would be off.
Obviously, there is a sense of forecasting that needs to happen too. The pitch might just about be playable now, but what will it look like after the warmup? How will it hold up when the game starts and 22 sets of boots start motoring across it? The forecast suggested that pouring rain would continue for a few more hours yet.
Really there was little choice but to postpone. It is worth remembering that the referee makes the decision. Not Brighton and not the WSL. I also think, somewhat ironically, if this game had taken place in the much maligned midday slot, it might have gone ahead, but the rain continued to pour all day long.
**Could the postponement have happened earlier?**
Yes. But the pitch was covered, to conduct a pitch inspection you have to remove the cover and that exposes the playing surface to the elements for a longer period of time. An earlier pitch inspection would not have been worthwhile. The covers were kept on the pitch until around two hours and 15 minutes before the game to give it the best chance of going ahead. The condition of the pitch is not known until the covers are removed and the pitch is tested.
Of course they could have made the call earlier without conducting a pitch inspection at all given the playing surface at Crawley does not have a great history with the elements (Arsenal had a game postponed there three years ago too). The referee conducts the inspection and they have to be at the stadium to do it. The downside of early postponements that is we will get a lot more WSL postponements if calls are made that early, which would create a lot of issues with the schedule.
I would argue if you are expecting a sizeable travelling crowd from a significant distance, earlier calls are more sensible and more likely but WSL games often pass pitch inspections (and the fact that an inspection is happening is not always communicated- as this one wasn’t). For example, In January 2024, Arsenal’s WSL home game against Everton passed a late pitch inspection and the game happened.
You can’t really create deadlines for postponements either to give fans maximum notice because postponements are about safety (players and for fans if conditions outside the stadium are difficult). And you can’t compromise that in the name of a deadline. If you do, everyone will always postpone to be on the safe side. It is also easier to make an earlier decision with ice than it is with rain.
**Could this game have been played at the AMEX?**
Potentially, though this was a men’s FA Cup weekend, so it wasn’t known whether Brighton’s men’s team would need the AMEX which would have made it difficult to plan ahead. As it turned out, Brighton were drawn away at Liverpool and you could make the argument that Brighton could have pivoted. Personally, I think that is wisdom through hindsight.
Crawley’s stadium holds just under 6,000 with an away allocation of around 1,500 which has proved to be about right for this fixture. Obviously there are greater benefits to holding the game in the main stadium and Arsenal would certainly help fill the ground. But you can understand why Brighton would not be keen on surrendering home advantage to host what would essentially be an Arsenal home game on the south coast.
Brighton are in the process of building a bespoke ground for their women’s team so don’t have a specific strategic incentive to try to gradually turn the AMEX into their stadium. It is also worth remembering that they don’t have the resource and expertise that Arsenal have in pivoting to holding the game in the main stadium at very short notice. It could have happened, of course. It wasn’t impossible but, personally, I understand the reasons why it didn’t happen.
**Would this happen for a men’s game?**
A question often asked when it comes to women’s football and for which the answer is usually ‘no.’ On this occasion, I would point to the EFL, the National League and below, where late postponements are routine. In my time watching Arsenal men, off the top of my head I can recall Leicester away in January 2002- called off while we were on the motorway. Liverpool away in the League Cup in January 2007, called off for fog just as I approached the turnstile.
Portsmouth away in March 2006, called off 90 minutes before kickoff due to torrential rain and Stoke at home in December 2010, called off around 120 minutes before kickoff due to a snow storm. It happens. It sucks when it does and it is majorly frustrating. It clearly happens more often in the WSL due to the stadiums the games are played in but it doesn’t really happen any more often than it does in the EFL, where late postponements are an irritating part of a supporter’s life.
On this occasion, Brighton tried everything to get the game on but the referee, understandably, felt the playing surface was not suitable or safe. The alternatives here were either, in my view, not realistic or else only preferable in hindsight. It is annoying, I had arrived at the ground (drenched), I had sold my ticket for the men’s game on the ticket exchange and missed that too and, frankly, I am sick and tired of the constant pouring rain we have had in England for weeks and weeks and weeks. But sometimes, sh\*t happens!