City-Gladbach called off after torrential rain

The Champions League match between Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach has been called off due to adverse weather conditions at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite the UK being in the midst of a September heatwave, forebodingly dark skies opened into a torrential downpour after 6pm BST in Manchester.

Standing water on the playing surface made a pitch inspection led by referee Bjorn Kuipers something of a fruitless exercise – the sight of the Dutch official struggling to make a ball travel more than a few yards was enjoyed by the travelling Gladbach supporters but made the prospect of competitive football appear incredibly unlikely.

So it proved, as 20 minutes before the scheduled 7.45pm kick-off, Manchester City confirmed the postponement in a tweet, although health and safety concerns relating to the areas surrounding the ground are cited as the reason for the postponement, as opposed to the state of the playing surface.

The decision was made by City’s safety inspection group in conjunction with UEFA officials and the two clubs.

Source: soccerway.com