Dortmund demands Cup minnows switch pitch

Agence France-Presse

4h ago

REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Berlin – Borussia Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke wants the postponed German Cup quarter-final at minnows Sportfreunde Lotte played at an alternative stadium after snow forced Tuesday’s game to be called off.

To highlight how saturated the ground in Lotte was after the sudden snow storm, the Dortmund team bus had to be pulled out of mud by a tractor after parking in a field next to the stadium.

Watzke is worried that the pitch could again prove unplayable, presenting Dortmund with a potential fixture headache, and he wants the replay to take place on a higher-quality pitch.

Third division Lotte has a modest 10,000 capacity Stadium where Tuesday’s heavy snowfall left the playing surface saturated.

The referee called off the match an hour before kick-off, because he could not guarantee the players’ safety on the greasy surface.

“You have to think whether or not it could all happen again here,” said Watzke.

“It can all go wrong again in two weeks. And at some point we will have other games to play.”

The most likely alternative date for the game to be replayed is Tuesday March 14, three days before Dortmund has a German league game and after it hosts Benfica in the Champions League’s last 16 next Wednesday.

Watzke said the referee took the correct decision to postpone in Lotte.

“It wasn’t possible, the pitch had no grip. It would have been dangerous to play on it,” he said.

Dortmund’s director of sport Michael Zorc agreed.

“You couldn’t stand on the pitch, you slipped, there was the risk of injury and the risk of colliding with an opponent, because you couldn’t stop,” he said.

The draw for the cup semi-finals will be made on Wednesday, after holders Bayern Munich host Schalke, when “Dortmund or Lotte” will go into the pot.

Lotte will be hoping to claim another top-tier scalp in the replay having already beaten Bundesliga clubs Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen in previous rounds.