Simon Jordan issues clear verdict over Blackburn Rovers v Ipswich Town - the EFL have agreed with his view | OneFootball

Simon Jordan has given his verdict on what should happen next after the game between Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town was abandoned.

Former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan believes the abandoned Championship fixture between Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town must be replayed in full - which the EFL are believed to have now decided on.

After a goalless first half at Ewood Park on Saturday, Ipswich were reduced to 10 men in the 48th minute when Jacob Greaves was sent off for bringing down Yuki Ohashi when he was through on goal, and 11 minutes later, Blackburn took the lead through Todd Cantwell's penalty.

However, with just 10 minutes of the game remaining, referee Stephen Martin made the decision to take both sets of players off the pitch as heavy rain continued to fall, and the match was later abandoned after he deemed the surface to be unplayable.

That has sparked a big debate in recent days about what should happen next, and Rovers head coach Valerien Ismael has claimed it would be "fair" to award the victory to his side, insisting that they were "clearly at an advantage" and that "the data shows that we were on the front foot since the red card".

Blackburn were also believed to be open to completing the remaining minutes of the game against 10 men, but Ipswich wanted the game to be replayed from the start with both teams having their full complement of 11 players, which gave the EFL a huge decision to make.

And as per an update from Alan Nixon, it is believed that the EFL have now decided that the match will now be replayed in full, in what will be a big blow for Rovers.

Simon Jordan weighs in on Blackburn Rovers v Ipswich Town replay debate

While Jordan admitted that he understands the sense of injustice that Blackburn will feel if they are not awarded the victory, he insisted that the game against Ipswich should be replayed in full as there was still a chance that the Tractor Boys could have equalised in the closing stages, despite their numerical disadvantage.

When asked for his reaction to Ismael's comments, Jordan said on talkSPORT: "Well it doesn't require his agreement, it's not his decision to make.

"There is an irony about this because there is precedent for this in 1997 which included Blackburn.

"They were beating Wimbledon 2-0, and, after 35 minutes, the game was abandoned for weather and the game was replayed.

"There's a part of me that thinks it's inherently unfair that a side who is winning 1-0 against a team who are down to 10 men that's likely to be in the ascendancy and win the game is now going to be penalised, but probably the rules need to be tighter, harder and faster.

"This is a no-fault abandonment, there's no fault from the supporters and no fault from the players, the team or the club.

"In a no-fault abandonment stage, they should be much harder and faster on the rules.

"It should simply be 'we have to replay it'.

"It's not a completed fixture.

"With due respect to the amount of time that's played in injury time and the amount of goals that are scored in injury time, there's a distinct possibility that, despite the fact the statistics suggest that, at that moment in time, for the argument that Valerien wants to advance, they were in the ascendancy, there's no guarantee.

"You can't be half pregnant, the game isn't finished until it's finished, is it?

"With that in mind, I think, without wanting to be disrespectful to Blackburn and the inherent unfairness they will feel out of it, you have to maintain some degree of order.

"You can't have it half-baked, you can't have a situation where a game wasn't completed and a result was determined because it becomes a dangerous precedent."

EFL have sided with Simon Jordan's view - there isn't much scope for another alternative option

Given that they were in control of the game and likely to go on to secure victory, it is easy to see why Blackburn feel they should be given the three points, but Jordan is right that the only fair outcome is for the fixture to be replayed in full.

While Rovers would have expected to win the game, with 10 minutes of normal time plus injury time remaining, there is no guarantee that Ipswich would not have found an equaliser, particularly with the amount of attacking quality Kieran McKenna's side had on the pitch.

It is difficult to find a recent example of a similar case, making it tougher for the EFL to come to a decision, but in order to maintain sporting integrity, replaying the game 11 v 11 would be the correct decision, even though Blackburn will understandably feel frustrated.