Levante vs Athletic Club postponed as torrential rain floods Valencia tunnel minutes before kick-off

Levante’s La Liga home fixture against Athletic Club was postponed on Wednesday night after torrential rain flooded the tunnel and pitch at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, with the suspension confirmed at the scheduled 9:30pm kick-off time.

Both clubs had already submitted their starting line-ups when the storm intensified sharply over the Orriols stadium area from 9:15pm onwards. Athletic Club shared video footage on social media of several players, including Nico Williams, reacting as rainwater poured into the tunnel. Levante also posted images of the flooded passageway on their official X account.

In a statement, Levante confirmed the sequence of events: “From 9:15 PM onwards, the storm intensified considerably over the Orriols stadium area, flooding the pitch. Due to the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, the match was officially suspended at 9:30 PM.”

The club added that supporters inside the ground evacuated the stands in an orderly manner and took shelter in the lower levels of the stadium until conditions eased enough for them to leave safely. Levante’s sporting director, Héctor Rodas, addressed media in the mixed zone to explain the decision, with the club stating that player and fan safety was the overriding priority.

Athletic Club issued a corresponding statement confirming that La Liga and the officiating team had jointly agreed to suspend the match due to adverse weather conditions at the ground.

Among those named in Levante’s starting eleven was Liverpool loanee Ifeanyi Ndukwe, an 18-year-old centre-back who joined the Spanish club on loan for the remainder of the season. Liverpool signed Ndukwe from Austria Vienna in January for £2.6 million, with the move to Levante designed to give him regular first-team football.

No new date for the rescheduled fixture has been confirmed, with Levante stating that the official organisers will announce the revised timing shortly. The postponement is the latest weather-related disruption to affect football in the Valencia region, which has experienced significant rainfall in recent months.