Wed 1 October 2025 18:30, UK

Sturm Graz face a mad rush to get ready to welcome Rangers to Austria in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Russell Martin’s Rangers head to Sturm Graz in the hope of building on their first Scottish Premiership win of the season against Livingston on Sunday.

Rangers’ Europa League campaign kicked off last week against Genk at Ibrox in typically poor fashion as that game ended up a 1-0 defeat for the Gers, who had Mohamed Diomande sent off.

Derek Ferguson is among those to have criticised Diomande for his red card against Genk, with the midfielder now banned for this week’s showdown with Sturm Graz, who lost their opener against Midtjylland.

However, Diomande’s ban is only one of many things Martin will have to worry about going into Thursday night’s match in Austria.

Credit: Imago

On Wednesday afternoon, journalist Andy Newport shared footage on X that showed Sturm Graz’s pitch in a state of disrepair ahead of playing Rangers.

The Merkur-Arena has recently been hit by heavy rain, leading to areas of the field looking as though the Glasgow Warriors have been playing on it.

Former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett believes that the...