diff --git a/server/cmd/maintenance/main.go b/server/cmd/maintenance/main.go
index 8fcaf861..e533d82d 100644
--- a/server/cmd/maintenance/main.go
+++ b/server/cmd/maintenance/main.go
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ func main() {
 	migrationDir := flag.String("migrations", "migrations", "directory containing numbered SQL migrations")
 	interval := flag.Duration("interval", time.Minute, "maintenance poll interval")
 	batch := flag.Int("batch", 100, "maximum player rollovers per pass")
+	stalledAllocationDeadline := flag.Duration("stalled-allocation-deadline", 2*time.Minute, "reclaim a match stuck in ALLOCATING/PROCESS_READY/ASSIGNMENT_READY (server crashed or was reclaimed before registering) after this long, requeuing every participant without penalty")
+	stalledAllocationBatch := flag.Int("stalled-allocation-batch", 100, "maximum stalled matches reclaimed per pass")
 	flag.Parse()
 	if *dsn == "" {
 		fatalf("--dsn or COSMIC_CLASH_POSTGRES_DSN is required")
@@ -28,6 +30,9 @@ func main() {
 	if *interval <= 0 || *batch < 1 || *batch > 1000 {
 		fatalf("invalid interval or batch")
 	}
+	if *stalledAllocationDeadline <= 0 || *stalledAllocationBatch < 1 || *stalledAllocationBatch > 1000 {
+		fatalf("invalid stalled-allocation deadline or batch")
+	}
 	db, err := sql.Open("pgx", *dsn)
 	if err != nil {
 		fatalf("open PostgreSQL: %v", err)
@@ -44,13 +49,21 @@ func main() {
 	ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), os.Interrupt, syscall.SIGTERM)
 	defer stop()
 	for {
-		count, err := store.RolloverDueSeasons(ctx, db, time.Now().UTC(), *batch)
+		now := time.Now().UTC()
+		count, err := store.RolloverDueSeasons(ctx, db, now, *batch)
 		if err != nil {
 			fatalf("season maintenance: %v", err)
 		}
 		if count > 0 {
 			log.Printf("applied %d ranked season rollovers", count)
 		}
+		reclaimed, err := store.ExpireStalledAllocations(ctx, db, now, *stalledAllocationDeadline, *stalledAllocationBatch)
+		if err != nil {
+			fatalf("stalled-allocation maintenance: %v", err)
+		}
+		if reclaimed > 0 {
+			log.Printf("reclaimed %d stalled allocations, requeuing their participants", reclaimed)
+		}
 		timer := time.NewTimer(*interval)
 		select {
 		case <-ctx.Done():
diff --git a/server/store/postgres_integration_test.go b/server/store/postgres_integration_test.go
index bfe3c2b4..bc015da9 100644
--- a/server/store/postgres_integration_test.go
+++ b/server/store/postgres_integration_test.go
@@ -781,6 +781,109 @@ func TestPostgreSQLConcurrentIdenticalResultSubmissionAppliesRatingsExactlyOnce(
 	}
 }
 
+// TestPostgreSQLStalledAllocationsAreReclaimedWithoutPenalisingPlayers is the
+// live counterpart to the SQL fragment test: it proves the actual data
+// movement against a real database, not just that the right substrings are
+// present. Two matches: one genuinely stalled (old enough to reclaim), one
+// recent (must survive untouched) -- the deadline boundary and the
+// no-penalty requeue are both meaningless without a real row to check.
+func TestPostgreSQLStalledAllocationsAreReclaimedWithoutPenalisingPlayers(t *testing.T) {
+	db := openIntegrationPostgres(t)
+	applyIntegrationMigrations(t, db)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	now := time.Now().UTC().Truncate(time.Microsecond)
+	stalledCreatedAt := now.Add(-10 * time.Minute)
+	recentCreatedAt := now.Add(-5 * time.Second)
+
+	for _, player := range []string{"stall-player-a", "stall-player-b", "recent-player"} {
+		if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, `INSERT INTO identities (player_id, steam_id) VALUES ($1, $1)`, player); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	insertTicket := func(ticketID, playerID, state string, expiresAt time.Time) {
+		if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, `INSERT INTO queue_tickets (ticket_id, player_id, playlist, state, client_build, protocol_version, enqueued_at, expires_at) VALUES ($1, $2, 'casual', $3, 'integration-build', 1, $4, $5)`, ticketID, playerID, state, now, expiresAt); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	insertTicket("stall-ticket-a", "stall-player-a", "PROCESS_READY", now.Add(time.Hour))
+	insertTicket("stall-ticket-b", "stall-player-b", "PROCESS_READY", now.Add(time.Hour))
+	insertTicket("recent-ticket", "recent-player", "ALLOCATING", now.Add(time.Hour))
+
+	if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, `INSERT INTO matches (match_id, playlist, state, region, protocol_version, server_id, created_at) VALUES ('stalled-match', 'casual', 'PROCESS_READY', 'NA', 1, 'stalled-server', $1)`, stalledCreatedAt); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, `INSERT INTO matches (match_id, playlist, state, region, protocol_version, created_at) VALUES ('recent-match', 'casual', 'ALLOCATING', 'NA', 1, $1)`, recentCreatedAt); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, `INSERT INTO match_participants (match_id, player_id, ticket_id, slot, team) VALUES ('stalled-match', 'stall-player-a', 'stall-ticket-a', 0, 0), ('stalled-match', 'stall-player-b', 'stall-ticket-b', 1, 1)`); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, `INSERT INTO match_participants (match_id, player_id, ticket_id, slot, team) VALUES ('recent-match', 'recent-player', 'recent-ticket', 0, 0)`); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	reclaimed, err := ExpireStalledAllocations(ctx, db, now, 2*time.Minute, 10)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expire stalled allocations: %v", err)
+	}
+	if reclaimed != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("reclaimed = %d, want exactly 1 (the recent match must survive)", reclaimed)
+	}
+
+	var stalledState, recentState string
+	if err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT state FROM matches WHERE match_id = 'stalled-match'`).Scan(&stalledState); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT state FROM matches WHERE match_id = 'recent-match'`).Scan(&recentState); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if stalledState != "FAILED" {
+		t.Fatalf("stalled match state = %s, want FAILED", stalledState)
+	}
+	if recentState != "ALLOCATING" {
+		t.Fatalf("recent match state = %s, want untouched ALLOCATING", recentState)
+	}
+
+	var ticketAState, ticketBState, recentTicketState string
+	var ticketAExpiry time.Time
+	if err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT state, expires_at FROM queue_tickets WHERE ticket_id = 'stall-ticket-a'`).Scan(&ticketAState, &ticketAExpiry); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT state FROM queue_tickets WHERE ticket_id = 'stall-ticket-b'`).Scan(&ticketBState); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT state FROM queue_tickets WHERE ticket_id = 'recent-ticket'`).Scan(&recentTicketState); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if ticketAState != "QUEUED" || ticketBState != "QUEUED" {
+		t.Fatalf("stalled participants' tickets = %s, %s -- want both requeued to QUEUED, not failed/left behind", ticketAState, ticketBState)
+	}
+	if !ticketAExpiry.After(now) {
+		t.Fatalf("requeued ticket expiry %v was not refreshed forward from %v", ticketAExpiry, now)
+	}
+	if recentTicketState != "ALLOCATING" {
+		t.Fatalf("recent match's ticket state = %s, want untouched ALLOCATING", recentTicketState)
+	}
+
+	var activeParticipants int
+	if err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT count(*) FROM match_participants WHERE match_id = 'stalled-match' AND participation_active`).Scan(&activeParticipants); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if activeParticipants != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("stalled match still has %d active participants, want 0 (so the player can be matched again)", activeParticipants)
+	}
+
+	// Idempotent: the match is now FAILED, not one of the three reclaimable
+	// states, so a second pass must not touch it again.
+	reclaimedAgain, err := ExpireStalledAllocations(ctx, db, now.Add(time.Minute), 2*time.Minute, 10)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("second expire pass: %v", err)
+	}
+	if reclaimedAgain != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("second pass reclaimed %d matches, want 0 (already-FAILED match must not be reprocessed)", reclaimedAgain)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestPostgreSQLRankedSeasonRolloverIsExactlyOnce(t *testing.T) {
 	db := openIntegrationPostgres(t)
 	applyIntegrationMigrations(t, db)
diff --git a/server/store/stalled_allocation_sql.go b/server/store/stalled_allocation_sql.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0e9aecfc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/store/stalled_allocation_sql.go
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+package store
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"database/sql"
+	"fmt"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/cosmic-clash/cosmic-clash/server/domain"
+)
+
+// ExpireStalledAllocationsSQL reclaims a match that has sat in
+// ALLOCATING/PROCESS_READY/ASSIGNMENT_READY past the deadline -- its server
+// crashed, was reclaimed by Agones as unhealthy, or otherwise never finished
+// registering. Requeues every participant instead of just failing the match:
+// task 8.50's own stated acceptance criterion is that "infrastructure-caused
+// cases cannot penalise affected players", and a server-side failure here is
+// exactly that, not player behaviour. FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED lets a second
+// maintenance replica continue past whatever a concurrent one is already
+// reclaiming rather than blocking on it.
+const ExpireStalledAllocationsSQL = `WITH stalled AS (
+    SELECT match_id FROM matches
+    WHERE state IN ('ALLOCATING', 'PROCESS_READY', 'ASSIGNMENT_READY') AND created_at <= $1
+    ORDER BY created_at, match_id
+    LIMIT $2
+    FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED
+), failed AS (
+    UPDATE matches SET state = 'FAILED', revision = revision + 1
+    WHERE match_id IN (SELECT match_id FROM stalled)
+    RETURNING match_id
+), released AS (
+    UPDATE match_participants SET participation_active = FALSE
+    WHERE match_id IN (SELECT match_id FROM failed) AND participation_active
+    RETURNING ticket_id
+), requeued AS (
+    UPDATE queue_tickets SET state = 'QUEUED', expires_at = $3, revision = revision + 1
+    WHERE ticket_id IN (SELECT ticket_id FROM released)
+    RETURNING ticket_id
+)
+SELECT (SELECT count(*) FROM failed), (SELECT count(*) FROM requeued)`
+
+// ExpireStalledAllocations reclaims up to `limit` matches whose
+// created_at is at or before `now - deadline` and are still stuck in one of
+// the pre-live allocation states, failing the match and requeuing every
+// participant's ticket with a fresh expiry rather than penalising them. It
+// returns the number of matches reclaimed.
+func ExpireStalledAllocations(ctx context.Context, db *sql.DB, now time.Time, deadline time.Duration, limit int) (int, error) {
+	if db == nil || now.IsZero() || deadline <= 0 || limit < 1 || limit > 1000 {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("invalid stalled-allocation maintenance arguments")
+	}
+	var matches, requeued int
+	err := RunSerializable(ctx, db, DefaultSerializableAttempts, func(ctx context.Context, tx *sql.Tx) error {
+		return tx.QueryRowContext(ctx, ExpireStalledAllocationsSQL, now.Add(-deadline), limit, now.Add(domain.QueueExpiryWindow)).Scan(&matches, &requeued)
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	return matches, nil
+}
diff --git a/server/store/stalled_allocation_sql_test.go b/server/store/stalled_allocation_sql_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6360d811
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/store/stalled_allocation_sql_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+package store
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestExpireStalledAllocationsSQLFencesAndRequeuesWithoutPenalty(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, fragment := range []string{
+		"ALLOCATING", "PROCESS_READY", "ASSIGNMENT_READY",
+		"FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED",
+		"SET state = 'FAILED'",
+		"SET participation_active = FALSE",
+		"SET state = 'QUEUED'",
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(ExpireStalledAllocationsSQL, fragment) {
+			t.Fatalf("ExpireStalledAllocationsSQL missing fragment %q:\n%s", fragment, ExpireStalledAllocationsSQL)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestExpireStalledAllocationsRejectsInvalidArgumentsWithoutDatabase(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Unix(1000, 0).UTC()
+	if _, err := ExpireStalledAllocations(context.Background(), nil, now, time.Minute, 10); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("nil database accepted")
+	}
+	if _, err := ExpireStalledAllocations(context.Background(), nil, time.Time{}, time.Minute, 10); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("zero time accepted")
+	}
+	if _, err := ExpireStalledAllocations(context.Background(), nil, now, 0, 10); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("non-positive deadline accepted")
+	}
+	if _, err := ExpireStalledAllocations(context.Background(), nil, now, time.Minute, 0); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("zero limit accepted")
+	}
+	if _, err := ExpireStalledAllocations(context.Background(), nil, now, time.Minute, 1001); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("oversized limit accepted")
+	}
+}