The term walkover originally came from horse racing, but it has since been adopted by other sports like football.
While walkovers are rare in professional football, they do happen occasionally.
In this discussion, we’ll highlight some notable examples of walkovers and explore the consequences for the teams involved as well as their impact on betting outcomes.
Understanding a Walkover
In football, a walkover can happen primarily in two scenarios. The first scenario occurs when one team is either unable or unwilling to play the match.
In such cases, the opposing team automatically receives a walkover victory as there’s no competitor to face them.
This outcome often transpires without any gameplay taking place; however, it sometimes happens when teams halt an ongoing match that has already started.
A walkover result can be applied retroactively to a match that has already been played if one of the teams violated the rules.
For instance, if it is discovered that a team used an ineligible player during a cup tie, the opposing team is usually granted a walkover win regardless of the game’s original outcome.
It might seem peculiar to call a victory awarded by forfeiture or disqualification a “walkover,” as it doesn’t involve any actual walking.
The term originates from horse racing, particularly races with only one participant. In these situations, the lone horse must still cross—or “walk over”—the finish line to secure the win and obtain the prize money.
The way a walkover is recorded depends on whether it’s for a cup or league match. In knockout cup fixtures, the scoreline typically just shows “w/o” to signify a walkover, since only identifying the team advancing matters.
However, in league games or group matches within cups where goal difference and head-to-head records are important, it’s standard practice to record a walkover win as 3-0.
What Effect Does a Walkover Have on My Bet?
In the event of a walkover, where one team wins because the scheduled match didn’t occur, this doesn’t affect your bets in quite the same way.
If you’ve bet on a match that gets cancelled due to one team’s withdrawal or forfeiture, that particular wager will be voided.
For single bets, you’ll get your stake back regardless of which team you supported.
If a walkover is granted after the fact, it doesn’t affect betting outcomes. When you place a bet on a football match, your wager should be resolved shortly after the game ends, or even sooner depending on your type of bet.
Once that’s done and any winnings are reflected in your account, subsequent events don’t matter anymore.
If the team you backed gets disqualified days later and their opponents receive a walkover win instead, bookmakers won’t reclaim your winnings.
Likewise, though they won’t pay out to those who placed bets on these now-declared winners because that market was settled long ago either way.
In the rare event that a team refuses to continue playing during an ongoing match, only unsettled bets will be voided.
If a team leaves the field in the 70th minute, any already settled bets (such as those for half-time results) will remain valid.
Bets on outcomes like the match winner won’t be paid out even if one team was ahead at that moment, and this remains true even if they are later given a walkover win.
This is partly because these decisions can take time and often face appeals.
Most Frequent Causes of Walkover Outcomes
In the early stages of cup competitions, especially those featuring lower-tier football teams, walkovers are more common.
This is due to a combination of limited finances and smaller squad sizes that often prevent clubs from participating in scheduled matches.
Additionally, for teams with little chance of winning the competition, making significant sacrifices just to play one match might not be considered worthwhile.
The example mentioned earlier is from the 2020/21 FA Trophy, featuring teams from the fifth to eighth tier of English football.
This particular season experienced an unusually high number of walkover results, largely due to the global health crisis and positive COVID-19 tests among players; however, not all instances were attributed to this issue.
Overall, there were 20 walkovers in the tournament. In contrast, that same season saw only one walkover in the League Cup which consisted exclusively of fully professional teams.
Lower league teams are more prone to unintentionally fielding an ineligible player due to their occasional lack of awareness regarding eligibility rules.
However, this doesn’t always result in a walkover win for the opposing team; often, the match is simply replayed.
On rare occasions when larger clubs commit such offenses, they tend to face harsher penalties for failing to adhere to regulations concerning eligible players.
The reasoning behind this stricter enforcement is that professional clubs are expected to have a better understanding of these rules, so any lapses typically lead to more significant consequences.
When Celtic claimed that Midtjylland had fielded an ineligible player during a Champions League qualifier, there was a genuine possibility of the Scots being reinstated and the Danes being disqualified.
However, UEFA ultimately decided not to take action because Midtjylland only learned about the player’s eight-game worldwide suspension after the second leg had concluded.
Examples of Recent Walkover Wins
Walkover victories featuring semi-professional or amateur teams aren’t particularly uncommon. However, walkovers in high-profile matches are rarer.
Nonetheless, there have been several instances of such occurrences even in recent years, demonstrating a wide range of reasons behind them as depicted in the list.
Russia versus Poland – 2022
In March 2022, Russia was scheduled to host Poland for a World Cup play-off match.
However, a few weeks earlier, the Polish FA announced that they would refuse to participate in the match following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Initially, there was some speculation that the match might occur outside of Russia. However, FIFA soon decided to suspend Russia from the competition, granting Poland a walkover victory.
The exclusion of Russia also applied to club teams located in the country that were participating in UEFA competitions.
As a result, RB Leipzig was awarded a walkover victory against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League round of 16.
Tottenham vs. Rennes – 2021
They were eliminated from the 2021/22 Conference League after UEFA awarded a walkover victory to their final group-stage opponents, Rennes.
Tottenham faced a crucial match they needed to win, but the London club couldn’t play on the initially set date because of a Covid-19 outbreak within their squad.
While the Premier League was quite flexible about rearranging games under such circumstances, UEFA declined to mandate rescheduling for this fixture.
Initially, there was some optimism that the two teams could reschedule the match before the December 31st deadline.
Tottenham were even open to playing away from home, but ultimately no agreement was reached between the clubs.
Understandably, given Tottenham’s previous assurance that despite their health issues, they would be able to play on the original date; this left little room for leniency from their French counterparts.
The 3-0 outcome had no impact on Rennes, who were already confirmed as the group winners, but it did eliminate Tottenham’s opportunity to win European silverware.
Roma vs. Spezia – 2021
The choice to grant Spezia a 3-0 walkover victory for this Coppa Italia match was largely symbolic, yet it highlights the adherence to rules even in situations without significant consequences.
In the match, Roma succeeded in pushing the contest into extra time despite initially trailing 0-2, but their efforts to recover quickly fell apart.
Red cards in the 91st and 92nd minutes put immense pressure on the Rome-based team, leading them to concede two additional goals and resulting in a final score of 2-4.
During this intense and fast-paced extra-time, manager Paulo Fonseca made two substitutions, his fifth and sixth of the match.
However, Coppa Italia regulations allowed for only five substitutes in total.
Due to the failure to adhere to the rules, Spezia was officially granted a 3-0 victory instead of their original 4-2 win.
