Aberdeen chief executive Alan Burrows has admitted the club was disappointed by how late the decision was made to call off their Premiership clash with Celtic, revealing they had pushed for an earlier pitch inspection but were unable to secure an official in time.
The match was eventually postponed after fourth official Greg Souttar travelled to Pittodrie to inspect the surface at around 4pm. By then, many supporters from both clubs were already making their way to the stadium ahead of the evening kick off.
Burrows explained that Aberdeen had raised concerns earlier in the day and asked for an inspection at 1.30pm, with particular worry about the penalty area in front of the Merkland Stand.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We have been monitoring it all day. When we arrived this morning there was a large puddle in the six yard box. Our grounds staff worked hard to clear it, but the pitch was extremely wet and soft. When we tested it ourselves, the ball simply wasn’t bouncing.”
“Early this afternoon we asked the SPFL and the SFA to send someone to assess the surface. Unfortunately it took until after 4pm for that to happen, which is regrettable, although it was still the correct decision in the end.”
He added that the delay meant some fans had already set off for the match. “Hopefully calling it off with less than four hours’ notice stopped some people travelling, but others will already have been on their way and I apologise to them for that. Between 1pm and 4pm we were waiting for a referee to become available, which meant the inspection itself was very brief.”
Burrows stressed that everyone at the club was keen for the game to go ahead. “There was a big crowd building inside Pittodrie and we were excited. We have brought new players in during the transfer window and they were likely to feature, so there was a real buzz about the fixture.”
“Sadly, the small area in front of the Merkland Stand, particularly the goalmouth, has taken a real battering after a month of awful weather. We just couldn’t get the pitch into a playable condition.”
The Aberdeen CEO also took time to apologise directly to Celtic supporters who were travelling north before the postponement was confirmed.
Celtic now return to action on Saturday evening when they host Dundee at Celtic Park in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. That fixture is currently subject to a boycott call from the Celtic Fans Collective as protests over board level decisions continue to gather momentum.