Manchester Derby in China is cancelled

Jose Mourinho

The match between Jose Mourinho’s side and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City slated in Beijing China has been called off.

This follows heavy torrential rain that recently hit the Bird's Nest Stadium forcing officials to cancel the match.

Manchester United and City were due to meet at the Bird's Nest Stadium at 12.30pm UK time but torrential rain overnight had left the pitch too dangerous to play on.

Rival bosses Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola had joined forces to condemn the state of the pitch, which had been blighted by a fungal problem.

The incessant rain had washed away much of the replacement turf and a team of 70 ground staff were working around the clock to try to make the pitch playable.

But a decision was made at 2.30pm local time (7.30am UK time) to call off the game, with both clubs in agreement it should not go ahead.

Up to 50,000 tickets had been sold for the encounter, which was seen as a glittering global advertisement for the Premier League, but has now descended into farce.

United posted the news on their official twitter account and said: “Due to recent weather events, tournament organisers and participating clubs have decided to cancel tonight's International Champions Cup game.”

City also confirmed the decision on their Twitter page, after Mourinho and Guardiola had raised concerns at the prospect of their players suffering injuries because of the treacherous surface.

United will now fly straight back to Manchester to continue their pre-season preparations, while City will travel on to Shenzhen to face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Although the rain had ceased in Beijing today, torrential overnight showers had exacerbated problems on the pitch, with Mourinho and Guardiola unwilling to risk the safety of their players.

The cancellation of the game is the latest blow in a farcical tour of China for United, with the Reds unlikely to return to the country for some time, given the many problems they have faced here.

They suffered a 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai, then had a plane carrying half of their squad to Beijing diverted because of bad weather.

Mourinho then had to hold a press conference pitchside because of a lack of air conditioning in a cramped press room at the Olympic Sport Centre, where both teams had been forced to train, in an effort to preserve the pitch at the Bird's Nest stadium for the game, a move that was ultimately unsuccessful.

Mourinho and Guardiola feared their players have been put in unnecessary danger by organisers of the International Champions Cup.

"We want to keep calm, play safe, go home and keep the preparation going next week,” Mourinho said before the game was called off.

"A good result means going home without any injuries.

"I just wish there are no problems in the match and everyone goes home without injuries. If we manage to do that, then that’s fine.

"We know the conditions, but we have to play. The conditions for the training session are not the best.

"But for training we can control the situation by doing very little and by not bringing the players into risky situations.

“But in a match it’s more difficult so, again, I hope our players and City's players go home without any kind of injury to start the competitive period well.”

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