ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) - Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho says he’s unhappy with the quality of the pitch for Thursday’s match against FC Rostov in the Europa League last 16.
The playing surface in southern Russia hasn’t been used for three months, but has bare patches because of the harsh winter.
Mourinho says “it’s hard for me to believe that we’re going to play tomorrow in that field, if you can call it a field.”
Mourinho also seemed to criticize UEFA’s attitude to the pitch, saying: “I just had a quick contact with one gentleman from UEFA when I was looking at the pitch and when I told him about my concerns, the gentleman just told me, ’The players are insured if something happens. No problem.’”
Rostov has never reached this stage of European competition before. However, the team showed its ability to cause an upset with a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage in November.
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