Manchester United's Europa League opponents banned from playing at home due to condition of Olimp-2 pitch

United secured a 1-1 draw in Rostov despite their concerns with the 'dangerous' pitch

FC Rostov's stadium (Getty)

The Russian Premier League has banned FC Rostov from playing home matches at the Olimp-2 Stadium due to the condition of the pitch, just one week after Manchester United were forced to play on it despite Jose Mourinho voicing his concerns over the safety of his players.

United escaped their trip to Russia with a 1-1 draw – and a crucial away goal – despite the manager expressing his belief that it would be “dangerous” to send the players out onto the Olimp-2 pitch, with the Portuguese adding: "It's hard for me to believe that we're going to play tomorrow in that field, if you can call it a field."

Following the criticism, the Russian league has decided to ban Rostov from hosting any of its matches at the stadium until the surface is either repaired or replaced, though they are still free to stage their fixtures at an alternative venue.

Rostov are not due to be one of the venues scheduled to host matches at either this summer’s Confederations Cup or next year’s World Cup.

United are due to host Rostov in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 clash on Thursday evening, where a win would secure their place in the quarter-finals of Europe’s second-tier competition.

Mourinho has made a point of trying to win the Europa League this season given the reward is a place in next year’s Champions League, something that United are currently on course to miss out on as they remain sixth in the Premier League, with only the top four going into the competition.