Will Asia Trophy be back? Pitch woes put Hong Kong host at risk of losing out

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has confirmed the Hong Kong Football Association’s worst fears – that the fiasco over the Hong Kong Stadium pitch has seriously damaged their standing in the eyes of the league, and the Barclays Asia Trophy may be unlikely to return for some time, unless the quality of the pitch is greatly improved.

Speaking to Hong Kong media, Scudamore insisted all week that the embarrassing state of the pitch and the relatively small stadium compared to other venues in Asia would have no bearing on their decision over where to hold the 2015 edition of the tournament. But he sang a different tune to the English papers.

“Obviously there are lessons to be learned, there always is,” he said. “We’re not hiding from the fact that the pitch has been very difficult.

“I think we probably are going to have to put some stricter criteria on pitch provision.

“We will make pitch quality and pitch durability, sustainability and preparation very important criteria. It is important now, but I think as [Tottenham groundsman] Darren Baldwin said, if you have a deluge like they had, no matter what pitch you’re on there is going to be issues with the water.”

Baldwin took over efforts to save the pitch for day two of the tournament, with the Premier League believed to be completely unimpressed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's ground staff.