Tottenham Hotspur are in Thailand in the second stage of their preseason tour to Australia and Asia. They were set to play a match against Leicester City at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok today, but the weather had other ideas. After steady rainfall all day, the National Stadium’s pitch was waterlogged, and after an extensive delay and multiple pitch inspections, the match was cancelled.
Tonight’s friendly against Leicester City has been cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch and adverse weather conditions.
The event organisers, based on a recommendation from the match officials, deemed the pitch at the Rajamangala National Stadium unplayable and unsafe following…
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 23, 2023
It’s the right decision, even if it’s a disappointment for the players, the fans in attendance in Thailand, and supporters watching on television at home. At several points the pitch had visible standing water all over the playing surface, and the ball, when kicked, just stopped dead upon hitting the turf. Those kind of situations are just not safe, especially in a friendly match where the results don’t matter. It’s better to cancel than to risk a player twisting an ankle or suffering some other injury.
It’s the latest setback to Spurs’ tour plans. Tottenham’s opponent in the third leg of their tour, AS Roma, cancelled their own preseason tour to Asia after the promoters failed to pay the club on time. Spurs are still set to travel to Singapore to play a local team, Lion City Sailors, next week.
Nobody yet knows what will happen in Thailand. Will they try to reschedule the match? Will they arrange some other fan-centric event? Unknown. We’ll let you know once we do.
