During the Euro 2024 last 16 match between Germany and Denmark, a thunderstorm forced referee Michael Oliver to call a halt to the game. The delay lasted nearly 25 minutes as the violent storm passed through the area. Despite the challenging weather, both teams were determined to complete the game and eventually resumed play.
In response to the severe weather conditions, fan zones in Dortmund were also closed by local police. The 60,000 spectators inside the stadium were informed of the delay on the big screens, citing “adverse weather conditions” as the reason for the interruption. Fans in exposed seats scrambled to find cover as water poured from the stadium’s roof.
Oliver made the decision to stop the match in the 35th minute due to torrential rain, hailstones, high winds, thunder, and lightning. As a result of this interruption, both teams had to warm up briefly on the pitch before restarting with a drop ball just before 10:00 PM local time. At that time, Germany was leading Denmark 1-0. However, after several attempts at scoring goals by both sides during extra time periods, neither team was able to break through and Germany won by default after Denmark failed to field a team for their final match against Portugal in Euro 2024 quarterfinal round.
