Ajax to face Belgian team Union Saint Gilloise on pitch that was considered unplayable

The match between Ajax and Belgian team Union Saint Gilloise in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday will be played in the Koning Boudewijnstadion in Brussels after all. The European Football Association, UEFA, approved the pitch after an inspection on Wednesday, Union reported on its website.

This came a day after UEFA had rejected the pitch as a suitable location. Union was told to look for a different stadium to host the match because the pitch did not meet the guidelines and was unplayable.

Ajax was also informed about the problems with the pitch, which had suffered too much snow and rain. This led to the Belgian team doing everything possible to get the pitch dry, using heat blowers to do so.

The Koning Boudewijnstadium is not Union’s home stadium. The Belgian team was ordered to play their home matches there as the Joseph Marienstadion did not meet UEFA’s requirements.

Belgian media outlets reported that Union had to hope for permission to play the match in the stadium, as the search for an alternative stadium was unsuccessful. The stadiums of other Belgian clubs like Anderlecht, Racing Genk, Standard Liege, OH Leuven, and Antwerp were all reportedly unavailable.

The first match of the two-legged affair in the UEFA Europa League playoff round takes place on Thursday at 06:45 p.m. The return fixture will be played a week later in Amsterdam. The winner will advance to the last 16 of the competition.