Aberdeen face a late stadium swap for their Europa Conference League tie in Azerbaijan due to the shocking state of Qarabag’s pitch.
Qarabag are considering a venue change for the play-off first leg against the Dons in Baku on Thursday as the surface at the 31,500 capacity Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium is so bad.
However Qarabag face a race against time to get the venue switched as a UEFA representative will have to fly out to the alternative stadium to inspect it before any change can be ratified.
Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov confirmed they will look at alternative stadiums for playing the Dons.
He said: “We will look at changing the stadium, but the problem is we have very little time before the next round.
“Even if we were determined to change it, we might not succeed because of the timescale.
“UEFA would have to send a representative to the new stadium and inspect it, so I don’t think there will be enough time.
“The condition of the pitch was not good at all, but as I said to my players before the game, it’s the same for both teams.”
Two possible venues but both in Baku
Qarabag set up the clash with Aberdeen by defeating Cypriot outfit AEL Limassol 1-0 in Ajerbaijan to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
AEL manager Dusan Kerkez slated the surface as ‘very poor’ and now Qarabag are looking at two potential alternative stadiums.
O an! 💪
Kadi 🔥🔥🔥#QarabağFK #QARAEL #1addımgeri2addımirəli #ConfrenceLeague pic.twitter.com/LB4HPsCgq8
— Qarabağ FK (@FKQarabagh) August 12, 2021
Gurbanov said: “We could look at playing at the Azersun Arena, but it may have to be back at the Tofiq Bahramov.”
The Azersun Arena is a smaller ground at 5,100 capacity whilst the Tofiq Bahramov is used by the Azerbaijan national squad and holds 31,200.
Both stadiums are based in Baku so if there were a change of venue it would not cause a major disruption to Aberdeen’s plans.
The Dons are set to fly out on Tuesday morning to allow for the long journey and time to acclimatise to the heat.
Although the tie with Qarabag will be played at 8pm Azerbaijan time (5pm UK) temperatures are still expected to be in excess of 30 degrees.
Gurbanov insists he has yet to study the Dons.
He said: “We have little time time to prepare for the upcoming match.
We have to prepare now for playing the next opponent. I have not watched Aberdeen’s matches yet.
“It was a great win at us because the Cypriots really provoked us in the first leg. I don’t hold grudges, but we used it as motivation.
“We did not repeat some mistakes of the trip.
“The players played carefully and I am satisfied with their fight.”