‘Not a good spectacle’: A-League heat policy under scrutiny after Adelaide-Brisbane clash

Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar played out a 1-1 draw at Coopers Stadium on Saturday afternoon, in temperatures that reached as high as 36 degrees during the match.

The game saw the teams take two drinks breaks per half, despite which it slowed to an almost complete lull in the final 30 minutes.

It comes a week after Canberra United and Melbourne City kicked off at 4pm AEDT in Canberra last weekend in similar heat with multiple drinks breaks per half, and Melbourne Victory set to host Canberra in hot conditions on Sunday at 5pm AEDT in the A-League Women.

Reds coach Carl Veart was highly critical of the Australian Professional Leagues’ (APL) decision to go ahead with the match in his post-match address to the media.

“It’s not a good spectacle, is it?” Veart said.

“It’s a shame. We want people to come and support the A-League but we’ve got to make sure that we can actually put on a good spectacle.

“We knew the weather was going to be like this for a long time, and really it needs to be better from the league when [the weather is] going to be like this.”

In a tweak to their competition rules in the off-season, the APL brought itself in line with international IFAB regulations, stating that drinks breaks (now named “cooling breaks”) could be extended from 90 to 180 seconds.

These breaks are still applied within the APL’s own heat policy guidelines: implemented when the ambient temperature is at or above 31 degrees, or the Wet Bulb Globe temperature is at or above 26 degrees prior to kick off.

The Match Commissioner in consultation with Team Doctors and Match Officials will then determine the number of breaks per half that will be implemented for each match prior to kick off.

It was clear that the temperature had an impact on the flow and intensity of the match, and speaking to Paramount after the game, Adelaide’s marquee defensive signing Bart Vriends noted that there is only so much players can do to prepare for the heat.

“[Hottest game of my career] by a mile. I’ll be in an ice bath within the next five minutes,” he said.

“You know if you go to Australia that you get nice weather, but the flip side is you have to play games sometimes in 35 degrees.

“I try to prepare as much as I can do; I ask the boys (his Adelaide teammates) how to prepare for these kind of games.

“I drink like five litres of water and that’s all I can do.

“The rest is just trying to get your mindset right and fight the battle.”