Rostov have been banned from playing on their home pitch, which was branded “impossible” by Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho a week ago, by the Russian Premier League.
Man Utd have never had it this bad
The playing surface at the Olimp-2 was at the forefront of a furore led by the Portuguese prior to the Red Devils’ Europa League last-16 first-leg tie last Thursday.
Mourinho said it was a park that was “impossible” to play football on and continued: “It's hard for me to believe we are going to play on that field - if you can call it a field.
“In a very similar pitch in the summer in China, we and Manchester City decided not to play. But it looks like we have to play.”
Action has since been taken by the RPL, as the league told the BBC that its regulations are different to those in place to UEFA, which gave the park the green light for action for what proved a 1-1 draw.
As a result, the field will be inspected on March 24 prior to Rostov’s next scheduled home match against fellow Europa League hopefuls FC Krasnodar on March 31.
Rostov are not the only RPL side to fall foul of pitch legislation, with Rubin Kazan unable to play at their Central Stadium home.
United, meanwhile, face the Russian outfit in the second leg of the tie at Old Trafford on Thursday.