World Cup qualifier paused after sinkhole opens on pitch in Linz

A World Cup qualifying match between Austria and Cyprus was halted in the 75th minute on Saturday after a sinkhole opened near the home side’s penalty area at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz.

Referee Jakob Kehlet stopped play when the hole, described by players as roughly the size of a football, was spotted on the edge of Austria’s penalty box. Goalkeeper Alexander Schlager pulled up large clumps of turf around the divot while ground staff filled it with a bucket of sand. The interruption lasted seven minutes and the match resumed, with 10 minutes of stoppage time subsequently added.

Schlager estimated the depth of the sinkhole at 30 to 40 centimetres and assisted in the temporary repair. Bernard Neuhold, managing director of the Austrian Football Federation, called the incident "unpleasant and curious" and said officials would investigate the cause in cooperation with LASK, the club that operates the stadium. Neuhold said the federation would not draw immediate conclusions about the playing surface and stressed that the most important outcome was that no player was injured and the damage was repaired.

Real Madrid defender David Alaba, who captains Austria, said he had never experienced anything like the incident, including a separate occurrence in 2022. "I've never experienced anything like today or against Denmark, not even in my youth," Alaba told reporters. Teammate Michael Gregoritsch described the hole as "bad luck" but said the team expected better pitch conditions.

The federation’s reference was to a June 2022 incident at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, when a hole opened in the centre circle after Austria’s Nations League match with Denmark. That opening appeared to stem from a defect in the turf’s substructure; in that instance, players examined the crater after the game.

The Raiffeisen Arena opened in 2023. Neuhold said officials would work with LASK to determine whether the latest incident resulted from an isolated event or an underlying issue with the pitch.

The match itself was decided earlier, when Marcel Sabitzer converted a penalty in the 54th minute to give Austria a 1-0 victory. The result left Austria second in UEFA Group H, three points behind leaders Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Officials added the seven-minute stoppage to the match’s total time and confirmed there were no injuries linked to the hole. The Austrian Football Federation said it would complete a formal review of the playing surface and the circumstances that led to the interruption.