Coventry City v Rotherham United: Game off because of 'unsafe' pitch

Coventry City's home Championship game against Rotherham on Sunday has been postponed because of an "unsafe" pitch.

The decision to call off the match was taken by a senior official following an 18:00 BST inspection on Saturday which deemed the surface "unplayable".

"Quite frankly, I'm embarrassed by the situation," Coventry chief executive Dave Boddy told BBC CWR.

"The match official that inspected said he wouldn't have played a League Two game on it, let alone a Championship game.

"When you walk on it, there are craters and divots, which they put an awful lot of sand on during the week. But that's all it is, it's a sand surface."

Boddy said trying to stage their initial fixtures away from home while the Commonwealth Games was ongoing was "never an option".

He added: "We haven't been able to get into the stadium, it's been in lockdown for probably the last three or four weeks.... we are seeking urgent talks to remedy the situation."

A club statement said: "We are very frustrated that the pitch at the Arena is not up to standard, and share the huge disappointment that fans, players and staff will feel that our opening home game has been postponed under these circumstances.

"Promised investment by the Arena into a new pitch has unfortunately not materialised over the summer, which has been compounded by concerts on the pitch and then a huge amount of use at the Commonwealth Games last weekend."

And the problems have been compounded by music concerts which have taken place at the stadium, as well as the Commonwealth Games fixtures.

Pitch will be repaired 'as soon as possible'

A spokesperson for the Arena said it was "unfortunate" it had not been possible to prepare the pitch in time for Sunday's game.

"The decision to schedule the Rotherham fixture at the arena for this weekend was taken after talks with the EFL and Coventry City," they added.

"Coventry City were understandably keen to play at home despite the extremely short turnaround following the Commonwealth Games, and Birmingham 2022 agreed to accommodate the request, despite having an exclusive tenancy agreement until 14 August.

"We are implementing an action plan to ensure the pitch is repaired and available as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Commonwealth Games said they had signed an official tenancy agreement to use the stadium from 8 July until 14 August.

"After a contract was agreed for Coventry City Football Club to return to the Coventry Stadium, Birmingham 2022 was asked whether it could accommodate CCFC matches within our tenancy," they added.

"To assist the football club, we rearranged our derigging schedule to make the stadium available on 7,10 and 14 August.

"It has been a busy summer at the Coventry Stadium, and as has been planned for several years, we were pleased to stage rugby sevens matches at the venue on 29, 30 and 31 July."

'It's not in good nick'

Speaking earlier on Saturday, Sky Blues manager Mark Robins told BBC CWR: "It's not in good nick, that's for sure, nowhere near the level that we expect or need.

"We've been let down, there's no doubt about that, and the pitch has to be in better order - it has to be safe for people to play on and, at this moment, it's not.

"They need to get that rectified as soon as possible and this is something that the groundsmen are trying their socks off to do."

He continued: "(I've been given) No assurances, but by hook or by crook, it has to be resolved."

Coventry are scheduled to stage a Carabao Cup game against Bristol City on Wednesday but no decision has yet been taken on whether or not that will go ahead.

Their next scheduled home Championship fixture is against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday, 16 August.

A statement by Rotherham said: "Whilst we are, of course, disappointed that the fixture will not go ahead as planned, we will always prioritise the safety of our players and understand the match officials' decision to postpone the game.

"We share the frustrations of our fans and apologise to those who had made travel plans to attend Sunday's match."