Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack unhappy with state of Qarabag’s pitch

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack has criticised UEFA for allowing Qarabag to play their Europa Conference League play-off on their pitch.

Cormack posted photographs of the surface at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium on social media on the eve of the first leg in Azerbaijan.

There were barren patches on the turf and significant divots, prompting Cormack to compare it to public playing fields.

Cormack wrote on Twitter: “How @UEFA can sanction a pitch like this is beyond the pale… the top cutting up immediately you play on it. And here in Baku they have this beautiful new stadium just up the road! Maybe we should play the return leg at Inverdee!”

Both Qarabag and Limassol had complained about the state of the surface after the previous round.

However, Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov felt there was not enough time to secure permission to use an alternative venue for the play-off.