ROCHDALE players risked serious injury when they were forced to play on a Don Valley Stadium surface badly affected by a U2 gig.

Bono and the boys starred at the Sheffield venue last Thursday, giving Rotherham ground staff just two days to clean up in preparation for Sunday's League Two fixture.

Spotland officials slammed the state of the pitch after finding shards of glass and other debris.

After inspecting the pitch, Dale manager Keith Hill lodged a formal complaint to referee Gary Sutton and the club has since complained to the Football League.

Dale lost the game 2-1 and Hill was reluctant to discuss the state of the surface after the match for fear his comments would be construed as excuses.

But a club spokesman confirmed Dale had since lodged an official complaint to the Football League.

"We have lodged an official complaint but not from the point of view of asking for the game to be replayed," he said. "We would argue that the game should never have been played in the first place.

Rochdale concerns

"We voiced our concerns over the state of the pitch to the match referee prior to the game. When we were first asked to move the fixture to the Sunday we reluctantly agreed after discussions with Rotherham and Football League officials.

"Back in June we expressed our concern over what state the pitch would be in after a U2 concert. Queens Park's game on Saturday was postponed due to the state of their pitch after a U2 concert.

"The standard of the playing surface at the Don Valley Stadium fell well below the required standard set by the Football League in our opinion. The surface was dreadful and you could argue it was a danger to the players.

"Our photographer pulled a slither of glass out of the pitch before the game that could have caused someone a really nasty injury. There are no sour grapes on our part with regards to the result and manager Keith Hill avoided talking about the pitch after the match.

"But back in June he was worried how the surface would be affected and it turned out his concerns were well-founded, for Keith was proven right. In no way was that pitch fit for professional football.

"In effect, there were two different playing surfaces, one green, one yellow. The yellow area was rough and covered with sand and there was debris in the sand. It definitely had an impact. We are a footballing team, we play our game on the ground and we're not built to lump high balls forward."

A spokesman for the Professional Footballers' Association said the decision rested with the referee. "Ultimate responsibility for the health and safety of players is down to the match official. You would expect an official at that level to make a decision with those considerations in mind.

"If the club has evidence that the pitch posed a potential danger to players it may be that such issues need to be given due consideration in any future instances."