There were bizarre scenes in the English Football League on Sunday afternoon as one of the goals at Hull City's MKM Stadium needed to be readjusted with a saw ahead of their Championship fixture against Birmingham City.
The 3pm kick-off was delayed by 20 minutes so two inches could be taken off the two posts - believed to be propping up the goal at the South Stand - to bring them down to the regulation eight-foot height. Match officials checked the goal's original size with a tape measure ahead of the fixture and an electric saw was brought out to make the necessary changes.
Complicating matters further, goal-line technology system Hawk-Eye needed to be recalibrated, which contributed to the 20-minute hold-up. The unusual incident came on the same afternoon there was a sizeable delay in the Premier League fixture between Leeds United and Arsenal due to a power issue at Elland Road which impacted referee communications.
Chris Kavanagh was forced to halt the game and send both teams back to the dressing rooms before the match eventually resumed, with Bukayo Saka giving the visitors the lead in the first half. The goalpost fiasco at the MKM Stadium was not the first to happen recently, either, as there was controversy at the DW Stadium earlier in October.
Cardiff City caretaker manager Mark Hudson's coaching staff claimed the two goals at Wigan Athletic's ground were two different sizes. There was a seven-minute delay before kick-off, with Hudson agreeing play should proceed after being told it could take up to two hours to investigate the reported issue.
Remarkably, Cardiff's third goal in their 3-1 victory struck the underside of the alleged taller crossbar before going in. "A couple of the lads thought there was an issue with the size of the goals," Hudson said.
What is the most bizarre logistical issue you have seen at a football match, and how long did it take to solve? Have your say in the comments!
"One of the goals was too high by a couple of inches. We flagged it straight away, and then they had to recalibrate it because of Hawk-Eye, I think. We were initially told we'd have to wait a couple of hours for it to sink another couple of inches, but no one wanted that.
"We decided to continue with it, and it was the same for both sides. I did ask if we could attack that end in both halves but they weren't having that."
Meanwhile, Wigan manager Leam Richardson said: "One of the goals was two inches too high and their third goal goes in off the bar… so you do the maths. It just sums up the day for us, doesn't it."
