Sawt Falasteen - Lightning, downpour, a two-hour delay: bad weather hits the World Cup

On Monday, that likelihood came true with a vengeance as lightning flashed across the sky above Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and torrential rain soaked spectators at France's game against Iraq, forcing play to be halted for more than two hours.

It was the first time that a match at the tournament has had to be paused due to the weather.

Fans at the stadium tried to make the best of the situation, although they were surprised by the strictness of the protocol.

After Canadian referee Drew Fischer sent the 22 players back to the dressing rooms for half-time, with France leading 1-0 thanks to a Kylian Mbappe goal, an urgent message flashed up on the scoreboards: "Please exit the open seating area and seek shelter in covered areas of the stadium."

The approximately 70,000 spectators, many already in ponchos and rain coats, filed out and, in little more than 15 minutes, the concourses of "the Linc" resembled a huge train station on a holiday travel day.

Antoine Chouraqui, a Frenchman who has lived in the United States for a decade, took the development in stride.

"There are storms in the summer here. I've never had to evacuate a stadium, but I play tennis and often we're in the middle of a match when the alarm goes off warning that lightning is coming, and we have to leave the court," he told AFP.

A fan from Paris though was baffled by the order to leave the stands.

"We don't really know what to do; we haven't been given many instructions," said the man, who declined to give his name, as he stood with his two sons.

"I've never seen that in 40 years of football. In France we don't stop a match for rain."

The rain poured and poured, soaking any fans who lingered in the seats.

"We brought the ponchos, we were ready," said Steven Jouan, 32, who had come to Philadelphia from South Carolina with his partner for the game to support France.

"We have been to different sporting events before so we knew that delays happen. Most of the other games get cancelled but a World Cup game, you just gotta stick it out."

- 'With $400 tickets, I'm staying' -

Spectators used the interruption to try to dry off, chat, and shop, whether it was food, drinks, jerseys, scarves, or whatever other merchandise they could find.

There was no chance of fans leaving though -- with the cost of tickets to this World Cup, they wanted to get their money's worth.

"I've already left an interrupted MLS match before," said Axel Francon, who has lived in Colorado for four years. "But here, at $400 a ticket, I'm staying."

Pierre Prondeau and Morgane Granger stayed too, "after travelling 6,000 kilometers" to attend France's first two World Cup matches.

"We're making the best of a bad situation, but the match better not be postponed because we won't be able to change our return tickets," Prondeau said.

Eventually the lightning stopped flashing and an announcement was made that the game would restart at 8:00 pm local time (0000 GMT Tuesday). France went on to win 3-0.

The Club World Cup in the United States last year, which served as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, saw six matches delayed because of extreme weather conditions, including eventual winners Chelsea's game against Benfica in the round of 16 in Charlotte, which was halted for four and a half hours.

Scientists say this is a phenomenon that could become increasingly common as greenhouse gases continue to warm the planet.

Q.Jaber--SF-PST