A source told ESPN FC that the German club had requested that the game be played at 6 p.m., but City did not have stadium stewards available to cover the game at that time.
Advertisement
The rain eased off as kick-off time approached, but with the pitch sodden and conditions outside treacherous, the decision to call the game off was made around 15 minutes until kickoff.
Following a pitch inspection by referee Bjorn Kuipers and his fellow officials, UEFA decided the game could not go ahead due to concerns over safety.
Neither set of players had been out to warm up.
Quoted in the Express, Redknapp said: “I think Manchester City have got a great chance; I think they will be risky this year”.
Heavy rain, thunder and lightning hit Manchester on Tuesday evening, forcing the Group C match to be abandoned because of adverse weather.
All tickets for the match are still valid, but Gladbach expect that only between 400 and 500 of the estimated 1,600 away fans who travelled to the Etihad on Tuesday will be able to attend. I think there were security reasons or something.
However, the upshot of a meeting between representatives from City, Monchengladbach and European football’s governing body – taking place after the two-hour window outlined as a resolution period for postponed fixtures in UEFA’s competition regulations – was a 7.45pm (4:45am AEST) start.
‘City offered us to spend the next night in the academy.
“I think it’s always a disadvantage when you have to stay one day longer than is planned”.
“But if the decision had to be taken for safety reasons then we understand it and respect it”.
Borussia pointed out that they had travel and accommodation problems – they could not fly back to Germany after the game, and could not find a hotel.
Advertisement
Not to be downhearted though, the Borussia Moenchengladbach players took to the field to thank their fans, before bringing out the “Viking Thunder-Clap” made famous by the Iceland national team at this summers Euro 2016 tournament.
