Thunderstorm Terminates Ukraine-France Match at Euro 2012

The Euro 2012 Group D match has been terminated as a result of a thunderstorm.

An unprecedented event in major football competitions has occurred as a heavy downpour forced Bjorn Kuipers, Dutch referee, to pull the players from the pitch after only ten minutes of play.

France and Ukraine had gotten off to some sloppy play in the storm, with a dark sky overhead (despite the fact that there should still have been some daylight left) that reduced visibility drastically.

Just moments before the match started, a slight rain began to fall and it had become a torrential downpour within moments.

Conditions on the pitch in Donetsk are terrible, with some areas already having been convered into swamps.

The storm is said to last for another five minutes, according to local meteorologists. Should the match be called off, France and Ukraine will finish their Euro 2012 encounter tomorrow.

Match cancellations are very rare in football, as teams have been known to play on through rain or snow, or excessive heat, on multiple occassions.

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