Ground staff tends the pitch at the half time during the UEFA
Euro 2016 Group A match between Switzerland and France at Stade
Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, France, on Sunday
UEFA said it would replace the
pitch at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille after Wednesday's final group E
match between Italy and Ireland.
The new pitch, it said on Tuesday, would be transported from the
Netherlands and installed by Friday ahead of a last-16 match on Sunday
and a quarter-final on July 1.
UEFA added in a statement that it was also repairing pitches in
Marseille and Saint-Denis, where the showcase Stade de France is
located.
Almost halfway through the month-long, 24-team tournament, the
demands on pitches have never been greater at a European Championship
finals.
Some stadiums are hosting six games and wet weather across France has
had an impact, especially in Lille where groundsmen have been forced at
halftime to try to patch up cut-up pitches as players slide repeatedly.
"The extremely difficult weather conditions in the past few weeks
(rain, humidity, lack of sunshine) have caused irreversible damage to
the surface at the stadium (in Lille), in spite of a series of measures
put in place to allow the playing surface to recover," UEFA said in a
statement.
UEFA have in the past opted to re-lay a pitch. After a torrential
downpour in Basel during Euro 2008 in Switzerland, they decided to
replace the entire surface as it was too badly damaged from the rain.
A French grass association accused UEFA of "scandalously" trying to
pass the buck over the state of playing surfaces, laying the blame
firmly on the governing body whose pitch consultant was to blame.
Yet UEFA said it was entirely satisfied with the work done by its pitch consultant Richard Hayden.
"UEFA rejects the completely baseless criticism directed at him throughout the tournament," it said.
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