Mourinho Expresses Dissatisfaction With UEFA Ahead Of Crucial Europa Tie
Reuters / Peter Cziborra
Jose Mourinho has expressed his discontent with the UEFA due to the conditions of the pitch in the Chornomorets Stadium
Zorya Luhansk are all set to host Manchester United in the final Europa League group fixture on Thursday night. However, the United boss has made his dissatisfaction known in the pre-match press conference, after having examined the pitch where the crucial tie will take place on December 9.
The Portuguese tactician stated: “The pitch is bad, but it’s very cold. The pitch is hard, the pitch is icy.
Tomorrow’s game between MUFC and Zorya Luhansk is at risk of being called off due to the pitch being hard and icy [Telegraph]
— José Mourinho-MUFC (@Utd_JM) December 7, 2016
“I think UEFA know the conditions of the pitch and everyone knows that the conditions in Ukraine and Eastern Europe in mid-December are more difficult. So if UEFA was worried about it, they should change the fixtures and not allow it to be played here in mid-December. So I think that is a problem.
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“They are trying, they are putting some warmth on top of it, but people cannot make miracles, so let’s hope everything goes well.”
Mourinho’s complaints do make complete sense, as the hardness of the pitch may result in several injuries for not just the Red Devils, but also for the Zorya players. However, Jose did add that he won’t be leaving any players out simply because of the poor conditions of the ground.
“The players I had to leave out to protect, I left them in Manchester. The ones that I brought, I brought them to play and not to protect them,” said the 51-year-old.
Listen to the sound the pitch makes. D. Blind says it is "like a rock". #MUFC players don't look happy.
Someone is getting injured tomorrow pic.twitter.com/CNniicBzGB
— The Red Devils (@utdtrd) December 7, 2016
United star man Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has abundant experience of playing in Odessa for his former side Shakhtar Donetsk, also talked about the difficult task in front of his team due to the tough weather.
“Tomorrow’s game will be difficult because of the weather conditions, because it’s difficult to play,” said the Armenian.
“But I think we will do our best. Everyone is feeling good – we’ve come here to win.”
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