Scottish FA chief executive has revealed there was significant pressure from UEFA to complete the match between Scotland and Georgia.
The Hampden chief explained that the football governing body were desperate for the match to be played despite a heavy downpour minutes from kick-off.
And after just six minutes, after Callum McGregor's opener at the sodden national stadium, referee István Vad called for the match to be suspended.
The followed 90 minutes of tireless work from ground staff to clear the pitch of surface water before the match resumed at around 9.30pm.
Now, speaking on Sportsound, Maxwell has revealed that UEFA were keen for the match to be played "under any circumstances" with the players not insured to play the following day.
He said: "We knew from a Uefa perspective they will want the game to go ahead.
"The phone calls I had for Uefa were saying we need to get this game finished.
"Under any circumstances, get the game played.
"There are daft things you don't think about, like Tuesday is the last day of the window.
"Wednesday is not actually an international window, so the players aren't insured on a Wednesday under the Fifa player protection insurance.
"So there are all sorts of other elements which factor into why they want to get the game started.
"There then becomes a bit of politics.
"A lot of people worked very very hard on the pitch and off it.
"The referee started the game when with hindsight he probably shouldn't.
"Uefa wanted the game to go ahead. Now there is a safety element to that."
There were suggestions that the match could be postponed and played at St Mirren's stadium the following night.
But Maxwell branded the suggestion a "red herring" as he cited ticket costs as he downplayed the alternative.
He added: "St Mirren Park was a bit of a red herring, it would only have been played if Hampden wasn't playable. We were then thinking can we get fans into the game.
"If we can't get them back into the game, then do we have to refund £1.5m of tickets."
