Ulster head coach Dan McFarland said the decision to stage their Heineken Champions Cup meeting with La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium was "wrong" and called out tournament organisers EPCR for removing their home advantage.
The province were beaten 36-29 in bizarre game at the Aviva, with Ulster coming from 29-0 down in the second half to secure two bonus points, albeit stretching their losing run out to three games.
The build-up to this game was dominated by uncertainty over where it would take place, with concerns all week about whether the pitch at Kingspan Stadium would thaw out on time for kick-off.
The EPCR moved it do Dublin on safety grounds on Friday night, before eventually confirming the Aviva Stadium would host the game just over six hours before kickoff.
The province's chief executive Jonny Petrie criticised the decision, while McFarland also said the Belfast ground was playable as of Saturday morning.
"The bottom line is the decision was wrong. It could have been played at Ravenhill," the Ulster boss (below) said.
"My personal opinion is that we were there this morning at 9.30am-10am and that pitch was playable.
"I was there the night before and the people there predicted that it was going to be playable. The work that the people did, the staff and volunteers, to get that pitch ready was phenomenal under the current circumstances, it was ready.
"We knew it was going to be ready because the weather was predicted to change overnight. But that decision was taken away from us."
McFarland maintained that the match referee Luke Pearce was happy to give the groundstaff more time to work on the pitch when he inspected it on Friday.
"My understanding is, and I was stood there, that Luke Pearce said it was worth waiting until 9.30am/10am this morning, and they [EPCR] can say that they can't rely on weather forecasting, but I’m right, it was playable. The people who were stood there predicted it would playable."
The virtually empty ground was a stark reminder of how soulless sport felt during the Covid restrictions of 2020 and 2021, with a jarring silence detracting from a breathless game of rugby.
And a hugely passionate McFarland says tournament organisers must recognise the importance of their paying fans.
"I said before the game, I've been involved in European rugby for more than 20 years. I played in the first season of European rugby in what was then the Challenge Cup with Richmond, I played Challenge Cup with Connacht, I've coached in the Champions Cup with Glasgow and with Ulster and with Connacht.
"There is more to European rugby than a game played between four lines. There's more than that. It's an occasion.
"Whether you're in Thomond playing Toulouse, whether you're in [Ravenhill] playing against Racing, whether you're in Welford Road watching Dan Cole win his 300th cap, it's an occasion. It has spirit, it has feeling.
"If you want to reduce it to the word 'product', the product is more than just the game.
"To me that should be remembered in the decision-making in this sort of thing. We all remember what games were like during Covid. Where's the heart and soul in those games? You'd watch it in the same way you'd watch an E-sports tournament.
"Whether you watch it on tv or sat in the stands, the occasion is lost without fans in the stadium. The game isn't lost, the occasion is lost.
"The product is more than just the game."
