Uganda Cranes’ 2-0 victory over Guinea in the 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers was temporarily suspended after the match was plunged into darkness following a floodlight failure.
With Cranes leading 2-0 in the 65th minute, the two teams were ordered to retreat towards their respective technical areas after lights went off.
The blackout lasted for approximately eight minutes but surprisingly, power in the areas of the stadium including the press box was okay.
The cause of the nasty scene wasn’t revealed but stadium manager Jamil Ssewanyana had to sleep in police custody after being arrested for what was termed as ‘sabotage’ to the beautiful game.
Nevertheless, it’s not the first time such an incident happened as Kawowo Sports’ Ismael Kiyonga reveals incidents in Europe where games had to be suspended temporarily due to similar situations.
Fulham 0-1 Manchester United – @ Craven Cottage February 2, 2013
During Manchester United’s Barclays Premier League 1-0 over Fulham at Craven Cottage in the 2012/13 season, there was a power outage in the 42nd minute as the home team defended a corner.
The hold-up was as brief as 10 minutes later the floodlights just as abruptly came on again. The official explanation was that some unidentified power surge had tripped the main switch.
Braga SC 1-3 Manchester United – @ Estadio Municipal De Braga November 7, 2012
With Braga leading 1-0 in a group H game in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League season, the two teams were hauled off the pitch after a generator lost power shortly after half-time.
The Group H match was suspended for 12 minutes before light was restored with United and Braga both re-emerging from the tunnel.
United then went on to win the game after goals from Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.
Gramozi Ereske 1-2 Real Madrid – @ Albania January 21, 2010
The game, organised by Albanian oil tycoon Rezart Taci in a tourney dubbed “The Oil Cup”, saw a power outage that lasted for almost two hours at half-time.
The blackout kept both sides in the dressing room until the electricity was restored by an emergency generator. However, it took the floodlights another fifteen minutes to fully turn on.
In light of the incident, the Albanian Football Federation announced that the stadium manager was to be sacked, effective immediately.
