A very serious situation occurred in a Peruvian Cup semifinal match as a player was struck by lightning on the field during the game. Joao Contreras of Sport Aguila was rushed to the hospital where he is being treated with burns on his legs. A linesman nearby was also struck and has undisclosed injuries.
The match was in the 2nd leg of the Peruvian Cup semifinals between Sport Aguila and Fuerza Minera. The match was abandoned but Fuerza Minera posted on Twitter that the game should be resumed “on Thursday or Friday.”
This is why matches are stopped and postponed when there is lightning in the area. Lightning is dangerous for everyone within the stadium. Fans are sitting on seats (sometimes metal bleachers) in a wide open space. Players are even more exposed by being in the middle of a field. It’s best for the referee to stop the game. I wasn’t able to find if Peru has rules in place to stop a game when lightning is in the are but I’m sure they will have something in place if they don’t already.
Either way, we can all agree with Fuerza Minera when they said, “Thank God those affected are out of danger.” Hopefully Contreras and the linesman can get back good as new as soon as possible.
(BBC)
