CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Barcelona Reports Atletico Madrid To UEFA
Few hours to the crucial Champions League quarter-final
second leg match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Barcelona has
been reported to lodge a complaint with European football’s governing
body, UEFA, about the length of the grass at the Vicente Calderon
Stadium.
According to reports, the Barcelona team are unhappy about the state of the pitch and while stopping short of filing an official complaint to European football’s governing body Uefa were left in no doubt that the length and dryness of the playing surface were not acceptable.
It could be recalled that the last time Barcelona complained about the grass they ended up losing.
* Barcelona striker, Lionel Messi training at the Vicente Calderon stadium today
Captain Xavi Hernandez made his feelings known to the referee at half-time in the league defeat to Valladolid last month. And the Spain international said after the game: 'The state of the pitch has prevented us from playing our natural game.'
Jose Mourinho was also accused of not cutting the grass ahead of a match against Barcelona when he was Madrid manager and Barcelona believe it is a deliberate tactic of teams they face both in La Liga and European competition.
UEFA rules place responsibility for the state of the pitch in the hands of the referee who can instruct the home side to cut the grass before the game but it seems unlikely English referee Howard Webb will do so.
Cambridge United manager John Beck famously instructed groundsmen at the Abbey Stadium to leave the grass long in the corners so the ball held up for his team’s long-ball game.
It remains to be seen if Diego Simeone’s team use the Barça complaints as an extra motivation tonight, and if Barcelona’s passing football really is slowed down by the Vicente Calderon pitch.
According to reports, the Barcelona team are unhappy about the state of the pitch and while stopping short of filing an official complaint to European football’s governing body Uefa were left in no doubt that the length and dryness of the playing surface were not acceptable.
It could be recalled that the last time Barcelona complained about the grass they ended up losing.
* Barcelona striker, Lionel Messi training at the Vicente Calderon stadium today
Captain Xavi Hernandez made his feelings known to the referee at half-time in the league defeat to Valladolid last month. And the Spain international said after the game: 'The state of the pitch has prevented us from playing our natural game.'
Jose Mourinho was also accused of not cutting the grass ahead of a match against Barcelona when he was Madrid manager and Barcelona believe it is a deliberate tactic of teams they face both in La Liga and European competition.
UEFA rules place responsibility for the state of the pitch in the hands of the referee who can instruct the home side to cut the grass before the game but it seems unlikely English referee Howard Webb will do so.
Cambridge United manager John Beck famously instructed groundsmen at the Abbey Stadium to leave the grass long in the corners so the ball held up for his team’s long-ball game.
It remains to be seen if Diego Simeone’s team use the Barça complaints as an extra motivation tonight, and if Barcelona’s passing football really is slowed down by the Vicente Calderon pitch.
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