Pittodrie Stadium, home to Scotland's Aberdeen Football Club, sits on the edge of the North Sea. During the winter the middle of the Scottish Premier League season a bitter wind whips up off the water, giving a biting edge to the snow and rain that often accompany Aberdeen's matches. The climate's tough on away fans, but it's even harder on the boggy pitch: last season, Aberdeen spent about €45,000 to maintain its field a big sum for a declining club in a peripheral league.
Little wonder, then, that when UEFA, European football's governing body,...