Tottenham’s pre-season friendly clash against Leicester in Thailand has been cancelled after heavy rain.
Sunday’s match between former Premier League rivals at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok was due to kick-off at 11am BST, only to be delayed by an initial 40 minutes as a result of intense rainfall that left large puddles visible all over the pitch.
Officials and ground staff from Spurs, plus respective managers Ange Postecoglou and Enzo Maresca, conducted several examinations of the surface before finally deciding that it was not playable or safe during a final review as the rain continued to stream down in the Thai capital.
Both sets of players thanked disappointed fans for their support with a lap around the stadium after the decision to call off the fixture was made.
“Tonight’s friendly against Leicester City has been cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch and adverse weather conditions,” Tottenham confirmed in a statement.
“The event organisers, based on a recommendation from the match officials, deemed the pitch at the Rajamangala National Stadium unplayable and unsafe following heavy rainfall in Bangkok.”
In their own update, Leicester said: “Leicester City Football Club regrets to confirm the cancellation of this afternoon’s pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur.
“The game was scheduled to take place at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on Sunday July 23, however heavy rains in the hours leading up to the scheduled kick-off have left the pitch unplayable, as assessed by the match referee and event organisers.
“Taking into account the safety of the players and the overall integrity of the game, the unavoidable decision to cancel the fixture was taken after extensive consideration to those who were in attendance by the event organisers on the recommendation of the match referee.
“Leicester City would like to extend its thanks to all supporters who have followed the Club in Bangkok, and regrets that the game was deemed unsafe to go ahead in circumstances that were beyond the Club’s control.”
Sunday’s game was due to be the second of the Postecoglou era at Spurs, following Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat by London rivals West Ham in Perth.
Their next friendly comes against Lion City Sailors in Singapore on Wednesday, before hosting Shakhtar Donetsk in a charity friendly to raise funds for the victims of the war in Ukraine on August 6.
Tottenham play Barcelona in the latest Joan Gamper Trophy match on August 8 before beginning the new Premier League season away at Brentford five days later.
Leicester are also off to Singapore, facing Liverpool next Sunday. Their opener back in the Championship comes against Midlands rivals Coventry at the King Power Stadium on August 6.
