Well, that's the end of that (for now). The lightning has taken it's toll and referee Bjorn Kuipers takes the sensible decision to take the players off and suspend the match for now. It really is horrible over in Donetsk. The rain is lashing, lightning is flashing. Have you ever seen Twister? It's like that. But better acted.
This is a first as far as I can remember at a major tournament. It is the right decision, though. Such has been the seriousness of the downpour, there is now standing water on the pitch. If it carries on like this there is a good chance this game may be abandoned. Many of the supporters have fled the rain and headed into the body of the stadium. Some are still gutsing it out and getting very, very wet. I salute you, you mad heroes.
"The referee has been told the storm is set to last another five minutes."
"They've gone off for the safety of the players. There's that much rain going on the pitch the referee couldn't take the risk of continuing.
"In this situation the players will probably be changing their kit back in the dressing room and the coaches will be making a few pointers."
If this game is called off (which is becoming increasingly likely) then there are contingency plans to play the game tomorrow. In the meantime, some fans are still enjoying the rain. In the tunnel, Andriy Shevchenko is wrapped up all nice and warm in a big blanket. Bless.
From shots we are getting of the pitch in the Donbass Arena, the rain is really taking it's toll. We've got some serious surface water on there now and even if it stopped raining now work would need to be done before the game would restart. There are still regular bolts of lightning lighting up the Donetsk sky as well.
Just in case you're a lover of rules, here are the Uefa regulations regarding such match abandonment scenarios:
"If the match is abandoned before the end of normal time or during any extra time because the field is not fit for play or for other reasons, it must be replayed in full either the next day or on another date as agreed by the host association and the visiting association, subject to the approval of the UEFA administration. An agreement must be reached within two hours of the referee's decision to cancel the match. In case of dispute, the UEFA administration fixes the date and kick-off time of the match. Its decision is final."
BBC Radio 5 live commentator Darren Fletcher in Donetsk"We've heard nothing from Uefa, but the pitch is underwater. Even if this rain does stop, and there's no sign that will happen any time soon, it's going to take a long time for the pitch to drain.
"There is a genuine concern at this stage that this match will not go ahead."
MOTD commentator Jonathan Pearce in Donetsk:"It will be 40 minutes before play can resume, at the earliest."
It looks like it has stopped raining in Donetsk. But as anyone who has played cricket at any level knows, it is just a waiting game now. Before a lot of pitch fork action. The players can have a game of changing room football.
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