Lithuania vs. Spain international match to be cancelled?
High tension at the Lithuanian Football Federation: Will the Group I qualifying match between Lithuania and Spain, scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, 2011, in Kaunas, be called off? Spain had called for the match to be cancelled and the international fixture to be postponed because the pitch was unplayable. Now UEFA—or rather, the appointed referee—has the final say in the matter.
Will the match between Lithuania and Spain go ahead?
Lithuania vs. Spain international match to be cancelled?
Date: 30/09/2026
After seeing the pitch in Kaunas , Spain coach Vicente del Bosque called for the Euro 2012 qualifying match in Ukraine and Poland to be cancelled because the pitch was unplayable. The Spanish national team coach said it would be impossible to play football properly on this pitch after seeing the condition of the turf for himself at the “Dariaus Gireno” Stadium in Kaunas. Del Bosque was aware that rescheduling would be very difficult given the packed international fixture calendar. Nevertheless, he stood by his view: “If the pitch is bad, it’s bad,” del Bosque told the press.
UEFA: The referee will decide whether the match is called off
So what will UEFA decide? The European football governing body's initial statement said that, under the regulations, the decision on whether the match in Kaunas would kick off rested solely with the referee in charge. At this point, UEFA expects the qualifying match between Lithuania and Spain to go ahead.
Spain's national team: Difficult journey to the match in Kaunas
Even the reigning European and world champions' journey to Lithuania was beset by bad omens: When the Spaniards arrived on Sunday night into Monday, they had to wait for hours at Kaunas Airport for their luggage because there had been problems unloading their aircraft.
Christian Bathen
