Philippe Clement furious with Dundee pitch after Rangers game is postponed

Philippe Clement criticised Dundee’s pitch after Rangers’ cinch Premiership away game was postponed around 90 minutes before kick-off.

After heavy rain overnight, there was an initial 9.15am pitch inspection by local referee Craig Fordyce ahead of the scheduled noon kick-off and, following another inspection by match referee Don Robertson at 10.15am, the game was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

The postponement – Dundee’s third at the Scot Foam Stadium at Dens Park this season after matches against Aberdeen and St Johnstone were called off – means Celtic go into the international break with a one-point lead over the Ibrox men at the top of the table.

Gers boss Clement said: “We weren’t warned about it – not Saturday evening, during the night.

“I hear now that people started to work on the pitch at five o’clock in the morning. So, in that way they did their best.

“But we were only told there was an issue because our kitman was at the stadium early, at around 9.15am.

“He warned us about the situation and for me that’s a really strange thing.

“This will be the only pitch in all the leagues in Scotland where a game was postponed.

“That tells me that it has nothing to do with the weather.

“Yes, it rained, but it rained all over Scotland and there were pitches in other lower leagues where they could play football.

“There, the ball was bouncing. But here, the ball was not bouncing. So clearly there is something wrong.

“Also, there were spots on the pitch where they put lots of sand and there was no stability for the players. It is really dangerous for injuries.

“I think it’s a very important thing for the future that a league thinks about how to raise the level of the pitches and put standards on that like they do on other things.

“They have standards with things like lighting, for example, to have a good broadcast of the game and to have a good product.

“Sure, the lights are really important. But even more important is the quality of the pitches, I think.”

The Ibrox club released a statement which backed up their manager’s disgruntlement.

It read: “Rangers, on behalf of our supporters, are extremely disappointed and angered with the late call-off of today’s match with Dundee.

“The first team have prepared as normal for the match, and it was not until this morning that any concerns over the playing surface were raised.

“It is not understood why the home club did not raise those concerns in a more timely manner, given the reoccurring issues they have had with their playing surface at earlier points in the season.

“The Rangers team and thousands of our supporters had already arrived at the stadium by the time a decision was reached.

“This is the only match in the entire UK senior leagues to be postponed this weekend, and given it was to be shown on Sky Sports nationwide, reflects poorly on our game.”

Referee Robertson was left with no option but to postpone the fixture.

“The only consideration for me was the safety of the players,” he said.

“When I inspected the pitch there, it was quite clear that it wasn’t in a playable condition.

“The ball wasn’t bouncing, and there were a couple of areas of concern in front of the dugout and in the top penalty area.

“The ground staff have done a lot of work to be fair to them, but the ball is not bouncing at all in some of those areas, it wasn’t rolling, the conditions underfoot were dangerous for the players.

“So, it’s quite a simple decision after that.”

Dundee managing director John Nelms expressed a different type of disappointment on Sky Sports News, saying: “We are supposed to be one of the most robust leagues in the world. The ball is rolling.

“We have had guys out here since 5am. We have done everything we could do to get this pitch in place. We have two small spots where the ball is not bouncing as we speak. The rest of the pitch is fine.”

Dundee boss Tony Docherty declared himself “really disappointed, as are the players” as he looked forward to the final games before the split.

He said: “We have four games to go now, two at home and two away from home. We will pick it up after the international break.

“It is disappointing there was not a game today but sometimes you have to deal with that adversity and make sure we take it on board and get ready for the remaining games that we have.”