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VIDEO: Stadium catches fire ahead of UEFA World Cup qualifier

Gareth Southgate, Englandd
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There’s a shocking video of a stadium catching fire ahead of a World Cup Qualifier from the UEFA section. Although it’s been controlled.

Ahead of the World Cup Qualifier between Andorra and England that will take place tomorrow, there was a stadium fire earlier on Friday. The Three Lions are visiting the small European nation to continue their road to the World Cup. After only moments the fire started, you could see the disaster took place only meters away from one of the benches. Initially, it was believed that the Andorra FA would suspend the match.

However, the firefighter brigade arrived and controlled the problem quickly. Pending official confirmation, this football match will still take place tomorrow at the scheduled time. We have video of the moment in which part of the stadium was on fire. There’s also footage of the moment in which the firefighters managed to put it out with no major issues. As far as we can tell from the images, one of the benches got substantial damage and it’s currently being replaced. 

England and Andorra will have all-female referees. 

In a historic day, there will also be an all-female referee staff officiating the match between Andorra and England. The central referee will be Kateryna Monzul. Lineswomen will be Maryna Striletska and Svitlana Grushko. VAR will be Stephanie Frappart. These are the most important jobs amongst the referee body. However, the fourth official and the assistant VAR will be both male.

During a chat with member of the press, Gareth Southgate spoke about his stance on this historic moment. Here’s what Southgate had to say via Sky Sports: “It’s a very important moment for gender equality, absolutely. For us, though, it’s almost irrelevant. It’s the quality of the official that’s important, not the gender. We’re looking forward to being part of what is a special occasion.”

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