Brentford postpone Birmingham City tie after pitch problems

Brentford have postponed their Championship match against Birmingham City as they install a new pitch at Griffin Park.

The decision comes after the current playing surface received wide-spread criticism, including that of Bees manager Marinus Dijkhuizen, who referred to it as ‘a disaster, awful and unbelievable’ after their opening day draw to Ipswich last Saturday.

The pitch had been relayed alongside the fitting of an undersoil drainage system over the summer. With the postponement of the Birmingham City fixture to 29 September, Brentford will not have another home fixture until the visit of Reading at the end of the month, providing the club with a two-week window to prepare the pitch.

Dijkhuizen has also blamed the current state of the pitch for a knee injury to new signing Andreas Bjelland, after his foot got stuck in the playing surface during Brentfords 4-0 League cup first-round defeat to Oxford United.

Brentford CEO Mark Devlin said: “Over the past few weeks we have been working hard on it. All tickets issued for the match next Tuesday will be valid on 29 September and our ticket office staff will be able to refund anyone now unable to make the rearranged date.

“The Club would like to apologise to any supporter inconvenienced by the change but I hope all Bees fans understand that this is the best solution in the circumstances.

“We would like to thank Birmingham City and the Football League for their cooperation and understanding on this issue.”

A statement released by the club added: “We believe the best way to ensure it is at a high standard for the rest of the season is to relay it as soon as possible.”

By Luke Jarmyn