Jose Mourinho furious at UEFA ahead of crucial Europa League tie over frozen pitch

Posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 by Express.co.uk

Jose Mourinho furious at UEFA ahead of crucial Europa League tie over frozen pitch
Jose Mourinho is concerned at the state of the pitch in Ukraine

JOSE MOURINHO has blasted UEFA for scheduling a Europa League game in sub-zero temperatures in Ukraine for December.

The Manchester United manager fears the rock hard pitch here in Odessa will hinder his team's bid to gain the point they need to qualify for the knock-out stages.

Overnight temperatures are expected to drop to minus nine and Jose Mourinho says given that UEFA know how cold it is in eastern Europe at this time of year they could have arranged it for match day five rather than match day six.

The pitch in the Chornomorets Stadium has been covered and Zorya have been using hot air blowers to soften the surface.

But Mourinho took one look at it on United's arrival and was not happy.

Asked if the game could be postponed he said: "The pitch is hard and very icy.

"I think UEFA know the conditions of the pitch and everybody knows that in mid-December the conditions in Ukraine and Eastern Europe are more difficult.

Jose Mourinho furious at UEFA ahead of crucial Europa League tie over frozen pitch
The pitch in Odessa has patches of ice

"If UEFA are worried about it they should change the fixtures and not allow them to be played in mid-December. If the fifth fixture is here it's the end of November and not mid-December and that's the problem.

"The hotel good, stadium good, pitch bad. But it's very cold. I know it's difficult to have a better pitch.

"The stadium is beautiful and new. The pitch is the same. They are trying. They are putting some warmth on it, but it's very difficult and people cannot make miracles. Let's hope everything goes okay."