Russian league club FC Rostov has been banned from holding games on its home field after criticism from Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on its condition. Mourinho was scathing about the surface, which had large bare patches, ahead of his team's 1-1 draw with Rostov in the Europa League last week.
Mourinho said ahead of the game
"it's hard for me to believe that we're going to play tomorrow in that field, if you can call it a field."
Sky Sports also tweeted that
Where as Manchester United will host Rostov at Old Trafford as the reds will come all guns blazing after FA cup defeat to Chelsea. With the Reds stuck in sixth place in the Premier League table, the Portuguese is aware that winning UEFA's second-string competition is arguably their best chance of securing a place in next season's Champions League. United drew 1-1 in the first leg in Russia last week thanks to a goal from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Mourinho said in his post match interview about the pitch :
'It was a very good performance in relation to the conditions,' he said. 'It was impossible to play better, impossible to play a passing game.
'We played what the game demanded and we played well. l remember as a kid some matches like this in Portugal on these type of pitches.
'To see my players coping with it and the humility to fight for every ball is a good feeling for me.
'I said before the game that I didn't want to go more and more into this. It is done. There are no injuries.
'The result is open to the second leg and one more experience for every one of us because our football life is full of experience and this is a new one for us.'
The Russian league has taken action by stopping Rostov from hosting home games at the Olimp-2 stadium until the field recovers to a suitable condition. Rostov is free to hold games at an alternative venue. The stadium isn't the one which will hold World Cup games next year in Rostov.
Trivia :
The last occasion the Reds drew 1-1 away from home in the first leg of a knockout tie in Europe was in 2012/13 when United went out of the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season as manager, after a 2-1 home defeat in the second leg by Real Madrid, who were managed by current Reds boss Jose Mourinho.
Team news :
Eric Bailly will return from a one-match European suspension after sitting out the first leg following his red card against Saint-Etienne in the previous round while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ander Herrera will be available as their current bans only apply to domestic competitions. Rostov will be without suspended duo Aleksandr Gatskan and Timofei Kalachev, who were booked last week, while Vladimir Granat is expected to be sidelined after breaking his collarbone in the early exchanges against the Reds last time out. First-choice goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanaev could make a comeback after missing the first leg through injury.