“Qarabağ” head coach Gurban Gurbanov expressed his dissatisfaction with the condition of the pitch after their 1:0 victory over “Imishli”.
Modern.az reports that he stated he did not understand how football was allowed to be played on the grass pitch of the Guba Olympic Sports Complex stadium:
“It was as if there was no pitch. It was like a hockey rink. This one slips, that one slips, they can't make passes. How can they allow football to be played on such a pitch? A day or two ago, two matches in the Spanish championship were postponed due to the condition of the pitch. Allowing play on such a grass surface…I don't want to talk much. When I express criticism, they say that only the “Qarabağ” side is talking about something. That's why I don't want to talk too much. But to see the condition of this pitch, neither Gurban nor anyone else is needed. This simply cannot be...
If we think deeply, there will be no way out in everything. There's no pitch, no tempo, you fear injuries, nothing at all…How will I prepare for the match against “Newcastle” with this game? Now, give the players recovery training for 3-4 days. The players were doubly burdened. It's a topic that needs excessive discussion. All teams complain about this. Can't something be done about it? Are we just sitting and waiting for the footballers to recover from injuries? One holds his leg and falls there, another here. Everything but football was present”.
G. Gurbanov also spoke about Mateusz Kochalski, whose name was not on the protocol, and Leandro Andrade, who was injured in the game:
“Kochalski had a micro-injury. That's why I didn't include him in the squad. Leo's condition is such that it's unclear what the injury is. Generally, due to the condition of the pitch, it's impossible to understand if his knee was injured, or where? It's impossible to know, it will be known tomorrow”.
The experienced specialist also commented on the episode where Kady received a red card:
“I didn't know what happened there. The opposing player was pulling Kady for 3 meters. Inevitably, he is also human and reacted. As soon as he arrived, he showed a red card. One needs to look at the beginning of the episode. The player also pushed with his hand. At least give a yellow. I don't know if head referee Javid Jalilov saw the episode or not, maybe Aliyar Aghayev, who was sitting in VAR, said something. Aliyar already makes interesting decisions in our games. This is not the first time. Because Javid Jalilov did not look. The opponent held him so much that he fell. He was a bit cautious, probably... Because in the previous game, Bahlul Mustafazade was not given a red card for a second yellow, and it was widely discussed.
The referees are probably also cautious after that, so that no criticism comes their way. I don't want to talk much about this topic. But the pitch must be taken into account. Referees should tell the federation that games cannot be played here. Can such a thing happen? What century are we living in? We have been talking about the development of our football for 25 years. But not on such a pitch. I know that “Imishli” is a new team, I understand. But they train in Baku and come here to play. If they train in Baku, they should play there or perform in another stadium. I am saying this so that perhaps some steps will be taken to improve the stadium, and I might be of some benefit. But we have no enmity or dependence on anyone. I am simply saying that I will not be ready for the Champions League match against “Newcastle”. I am saying this directly here. Because we spent the energy for 3-4 games today. The recovery of the footballers will be difficult, it won't happen. I didn't think it would be this much. Frankly, when these clubs came to the League, they were given one year to fix their stadium. This created a sense of complacency in them. Still, when I came to Guba, I didn't know the pitch was this bad. I am very disappointed. I have never been this disappointed recently”. (Qafqazinfo)
