Floodlight Failure Mid-Match: a 0-5 Forfeit for Olympic Charleroi
When the floodlights fail during a match in Belgium, the home club has half an hour to restore them. After that it loses by forfeit. What article B6.35 says and how a club limits the risk.
When the floodlights fail during a match in Belgium, the home club has half an hour to restore them. After that it loses the match by forfeit, even if it was leading. That is what happened to Olympic Charleroi at the end of August 2026: a 0-5 forfeit while leading 1-0.
- Article B6.35 of the federal rules: half an hour in total to repair, otherwise forfeit.
- Two exceptions: a general outage in the whole sector, or a defect in the club's own electrical cabin that could not be avoided despite reasonable precautions.
- LED floodlights come back on immediately after an interruption. A metal halide lamp has to cool down first.
What happened at La Neuville
On Wednesday 26 August 2026, Olympic hosted SL16 at the Stade de la Neuville for its first league match in D1 FFA. Olympic had been leading 1-0 since the 53rd minute. In the 59th minute the floodlights failed and could not be restored in time. The club was sanctioned with a 0-5 forfeit, Walfoot reported on 10 September 2026.
Olympic took the case to the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport. According to the club, the failure came from an underground supply cable of one of the four masts. That mast belongs to the City of Charleroi, which maintains it and repaired it the next day. As of 14 November 2026 we found no published decision.
What the rules say
Article B6.35 of the federal rules (Book B, Title 6) provides that in the event of a defect the referee gives the home club half an hour in total to repair it. If that fails, the home club loses the match by forfeit. As reasonable precautions the rules name: being able to call on a representative of the distribution company, having sufficient help and having replacement material available. Article B6.33 adds that the illuminance may not fall below 75% of the prescribed average anywhere on the pitch.
The case is not isolated. On 26 October 2024 the match Aische v Arquet (D3 ACFF) stopped after about three minutes when one mast went out. The 0-5 forfeit was confirmed on appeal, RTBF reported. The LED luminaires were two years old and, according to the club, came from a defective batch.
How a club limits the risk
- Have cables, cabinets and fuses checked every year, together with the municipality if it owns the masts.
- Switch the installation on before every evening match, early enough to still intervene.
- Have an electrician on call on match evenings and replacement material on site.
- Choose LED floodlights with a branded driver and a written warranty.
With old metal halide lamps the thirty minutes pass quickly. After an interruption they have to cool down for a few minutes before they ignite again, longer for high wattages, according to OSRAM's technical guide. An LED floodlight gives full light again as soon as the power returns.
LED floodlights for football pitches
Frequently asked questions
How much time does the club have to repair?
Half an hour in total, according to article B6.35.
Does a grid outage also lead to a forfeit?
No, a general outage that affects the whole sector is one of the exceptions.
Does LED prevent every failure?
No. LED removes the restart delay, but a cable, a fuse or a driver can still fail. The Aische case shows that.
Last checked: 14 November 2026, Nick Cuppens, Clightstore. Sources: Walfoot, 10 September 2026, Walfoot, 24 September 2026, RBFA federal rules, Book B, Title 6, RTBF, Aische case and OSRAM, technical guide to metal halide lamps.
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