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Play was halted in Austria’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Cyprus after a sinkhole suddenly appeared on the pitch late in the second half.
The bizarre incident occurred around the 75th minute, when Danish referee Jakob Kehlet stopped the match after noticing a gaping hole near Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager’s box at the Raiffeisen Arena, Linz.
The opening was large enough to swallow a football whole, prompting ground staff to rush in with buckets of sand in a frantic attempt to patch it up.
After more than seven minutes of penalty time, Kehlet finally gave the green light to resume, with Austria eventually sealing a 1-0 victory thanks to Marcel Sabitzer’s second-half penalty – scored before the pitch gave way.
Part of the pitch literally collapsed during the Austria-Cyprus match. Ground staff are running around with buckets of dirt trying to resolve the situation. I don’t remember seeing anything like this! pic.twitter.com/OECrF5jiGk
– Harry Symeou (@HarrySymeou) September 6, 2025
The victory means Austria are now second in Group H qualifying, having won all three of their matches so far, behind the also undefeated Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This is not the first time that Austrian football has flirted with earth collapse. In 2022, a Nations League match against Denmark, which Austria lost 2-1, at the Ernst Happel Stadium was also interrupted by a huge sinkhole opening onto the pitch.
At least this time Austria still managed to score all three points – although maybe someone should call a geologist before the next game.
