Genoa vs Fiorentina: Match suspended

We were all looking forward to seeing if Fiorentina would be able to get some momentum going against Genoa today, but it looks like we’re going to keep waiting. Referee Luca Banti suspended the match in the 28th minute after consulting with captains Gonzalo Rodriguez and Armando Izzo. As the pitch was completely waterlogged and probably still had some ice on it, they almost certainly made the correct decision.

What we got in that abbreviated half hour was, well, not good from the Viola. Ciprian Tatarusanu made a nice stop on Leonardo Pavoletti early on, but went walkabout to clear a through ball a bit later, and it was only thanks to a goal line clearance from Davide Astori that the Grifoni didn’t take the lead. Fiorentina’s chances were exclusively from Josip Ilicic set pieces, and none of them were very threatening.

But the story is definitely the hailstorm, which blew in very quickly and forced both teams into the shelter of the tunnel. After the hail stopped, both teams cautiously approached the pitch. Banti summoned the captains and, after a rather hilarious episode of watching them drop a ball onto the pitch and seeing it settle like it had hit pudding rather than bounce back up, the official called a halt to proceedings, much to the disgust of an admirably vociferous Marassi.

Serie A hasn’t yet set a date to continue the match, but it’s expected to be some time in November and December. The prospect of playing the remaining 62 minutes right as the Europa League and Coppa fixtures begin stacking up is a bit of a pain, but probably better than watching Borja Valero try to skate around on hailstones.