UEFA’s Senior Match Operations Manager says San Siro’s pitch isn’t “up to the level it needs to be for the Champions League final”.
The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan will host the showpiece match between Atletico Madrid and their city rivals Real on May 28, but there are concerns about the surface.
“We are facing a lot of challenges to get this pitch up to the level it needs to be for the Champions League final,” Keith Dalton revealed in a speech at the World Stadium Congress in Doha.
UEFA’s Senior Match Operations Manager says San Siro’s pitch isn’t “up to the level it needs to be for the Champions League final”.
The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan will host the showpiece match between Atletico Madrid and their city rivals Real on May 28, but there are concerns about the surface.
“We are facing a lot of challenges to get this pitch up to the level it needs to be for the Champions League final,” Keith Dalton revealed in a speech at the World Stadium Congress in Doha.
“The groundskeeper, with all due respect to him, is very junior but he is the only one with the technical expertise operating in that stadium.
“The others can hold a fork at best.
“The grass will be ready in time, the Spanish fans can rest easy. We’re aiming very high with the quality, but we want perfection because this is the Champions League final.
“I’m sure we’ll succeed though.”
The San Siro pitch had problems for years, as the addition of a third-tier to the stadium prevented light from reaching the pitch.
However a combination of solar lamps and the fact that the pitch was relaid with a mix of real and synthetic grass in 2012 has solved most of the problems.