- Title: GEORGIA: POWER FAILURE HALTS EURO 2004 QUALIFIER BETWEEN GEORGIA AND RUSSIA.
- Date: 12th October 2002
- Summary: (U3) TBILISI, GEORGIA (OCTOBER 12, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. RUSSIAN AND GEORGIAN TEAMS GREETING EACH OTHER BEFORE MATCH 2. PLAYERS ON FIELD 3. LIGHTS GO OFF 4. GEORGIAN FANS WITH FLAGS AND TORCHES 5. SCOREBOARD 6. GEORGIAN BENCH 7. RUSSIAN FANS WAVING FLAG 8. RUSSIAN BENCH 9. MATCH IN HALF - DARKNESS 10. REFEREES WALKING OUT TOGETHER WITH PLAYERS 11. LIGHTS GO OFF 12. GEORGIAN FANS SINGING AND WAVING FLAG 13. RUSSIAN TEAM GETTING INTO BUS 14. GEORGIAN FANS THROW ROCKS AND EGGS AT RUSSIAN BUS 15. GEORGIAN POLICE ESCORT RUSSIAN BUS AWAY FROM STADIUM Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 27th October 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TBILISI, GEORGIA
- Country: Georgia
- Reuters ID: LVADLPAUT1UOYLHCA0A261GVFXJ0
- Story Text: A highly-charged Euro 2004 football qualifier match
between Georgia and Russia has been called off at halftime
after a power failure left the players and thousands of fans
in the dark.
Russia was expected to beat the Georgian team on
Saturday (October 12), which has emerged as an early leader in
its Euro 2004 qualifier division.
But a large hometown crowd and tight defence on both sides
put the match at an even 0-0 as halftime drew near.
Then the lights went out.
A generator failure closed down the floodlights and the
entire stadium went dark. The homecrowd rallied and waited,
hoping that the game would resume.
Georgians are used to power-cuts, a common problem in the
spluttering post-Soviet economy of Georgia--but this time it
had cost them a possible upset.
Fans lit torches in a desperate attempt to renew play in a
match they saw as more than just football. Briefly, the lights
came on again, only to finally fail.
Georgia and Russia have been on tense political terms the
past month over Russian
accusations that its neighbour has allowed Chechen rebels safe
haven on its territory. Moscow has even threatened to take
military action on Georgian territory if the small, ex-Soviet
state does not meet Kremlin demands to crack down on what it
says are terrorist bases.
Georgia has said it is dealing with the issue and has
suggested that Russia should be more vigilant in dealing with
the rebels on its own territory.
Unable to renew full power, officials called off the game
and the teams returned to their dressing-rooms.
The upset Georgians, feeling a victory in sports and
politics had been snatched from them, gave the Russian squad
an angry send-off. Police units rushed to protect Team Russia
from stones and eggs that pounded their bus.
Officials have yet to reschedule the match, but say it may
be set for either November or March.
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