Ulster head coach Dan McFarland has slammed the decision to move Saturday's Champions Cup clash with La Rochelle to Dublin.
The fixture was moved by the competition organisers on Friday after Kingspan Stadium had been ruled out due to concerns over the pitch following a week of freezing weather.
The game was eventually played behind closed doors at the Aviva Stadium with Ulster falling to a 36-29 defeat after trailing 29-0 at half-time.
Read more: Ulster v La Rochelle as it happened in the Champions Cup
Reflecting on the late venue switch, McFarland told the BBC: "The bottom line is the decision was wrong. It could have been played at Ravenhill.
"My personal opinion is that we were there this morning at 10 o'clock, 9.30am, and that pitch was playable.
"I was there the night before and the people there predicted that it was going to be playable.
"We knew it was going to be ready because the weather was predicted to change overnight. But that decision was taken away from us."
Milder temperatures on Saturday meant the game could have proceeded at Kingspan Stadium, and Ulster CEO Jonny Petrie believes tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby should have delayed their decision to switch venues or push the kick-off time back 24 hours.
McFarland added: "I've been involved in European rugby for more than 20 years," added the Ulster coach.
"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 [Belfast] 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.
"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."
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