Clawson Soccer Playoff Game Suspended Due To Poor Field Conditions

CLAWSON– There was rain, there was mud and there was supposed to be a playoff soccer game on Wednesday at .

The Clawson varsity boys soccer team had its second round district game suspended in the first half against Macomb Lutheran North due to poor field conditions. The Trojans were up 1-0 with 15:21 left to play when the head official decided to call the game.

His decision stunned coaches, players and fans from both teams. 

“I’ve never had a game suspended, never seen a game called on the count of conditions in the middle of the first half,” Clawson head coach Jared Kullman said. “If it was that unplayable I’m not sure why he didn’t call it the first five seconds of the game.”

Tyler Jugon was about to take a free kick when the head referee waived his arms and walked towards the scorer’s table as if he was going to hand out a yellow card. Instead, he went to the coaches and told him the field was unplayable.

Coaches from both teams and Clawson school officials spent about 10 minutes trying to convince the referees to keep the game going. Players huddled by their benches and tried to keep loose while awaiting the final decision.  

A steady downpour had made the field very muddy and there was pooling of water in a couple of spots right on the sidelines. The head official’s concern was that the conditions were jeopardizing player safety.

Coaches didn’t disagree about the importance of keeping their players safe, but they did disagree with the referee’s assessment of the field.

“The field's wet, it’s muddy, but it’s not dangerous,” Kullman said. “There’s nothing dangerous out here, I saw a couple kids lose their footing, but nobody fell. We’ve been out here for 30 minutes so far, the kids warmed up on the field, we’ve been out here all day.”

Neither team had a player go down with an injury either. Soccer is generally played rain or shine, with the exception being lightening. Clawson played a large portion of its schedule on the same field in identical weather.

Kullman also pointed out that the field could actually be in worse shape tomorrow.

“The weather report I saw said 12 hours of rain into tomorrow,” he said. “I’m not sure where he wants us to play.”

If the field isn’t good enough to play tomorrow that leads to a whole different set of concerns. The winner of the game is set to play on Friday night in the district final at Notre Dame Prep. If the game isn’t played tomorrow then the finals would have to be postponed.

The referee wasn’t swayed and both sides left the field a little frustrated.

“I understand in the end, I know why he made the call and I understand his motivations, but I just don’t agree with it,” Kullman said.

The game will resume tomorrow, time still to be determined, with Clawson up 1-0 with 15:21 left to play in the first half. The Trojans goal from Tyler Lehman, assisted on a throw-in from Jugon, will stand.

“It wasn’t exactly like we were dominating, but we had a nice 1-0 lead and it would’ve been nice to see how this one played out,” Kullman said.