The home venue for the New York Giants and New York Jets, which installed temporary grass fields as part of its agreement with FIFA to host World Cup matches, has received some unfavorable feedback from soccer players about the playing surface.
“The pitch… I don’t even know if you can call it that. It felt more like an artificial surface – quite hard and quite rigid,” France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said via the BBC.
Brazil forward Vinicius Junior echoed Rabiot’s concerns about the pitch.
“In the second half, with the heat, the pitch dries out very quickly. The game becomes very sluggish, and we can’t get into our rhythm,” he said.
The comments by Junior and Rabiot sparked a debate about the playing surface at MetLife Stadium, given the number of ACL and Achilles injuries that have befallen players in recent years.
However, those injuries were sustained on artificial turf, not the grass field currently in place for the World Cup tournament.
Regarding direct concerns of the pitch being “rigid” or “drying out,” FIFA issued a statement defending its preparation and maintenance of the grass field, as follows:
“FIFA’s pitch preparation protocols are designed to provide players with a safe, consistent and high-performing playing surface across all 16 venues.
“Irrigation forms part of a broader pitch management program that is carefully monitored by FIFA’s pitch experts and local grounds teams, taking into account weather conditions, turf health, player welfare and match requirements.
“FIFA implements a structured matchday irrigation schedule, with watering applied at minus six, three and one hour before kick-off, as well as shortly before the match and at half-time.
“This approach is complemented by additional irrigation during hydration breaks when required, where high temperatures lead to pitches drying more quickly during play.”
The statement also emphasized that a FIFA-appointed pitch expert “works closely with the Match Director to continuously monitor and adjust moisture levels based on real-time conditions.”
The statement added that “the irrigation levels are adapted to the environment, with indoor venues often requiring minimal watering due to higher humidity, while outdoor venues account for factors such as temperature and forecast rainfall.”
Once the World Cup ends next month, MetLife Stadium will return to its FieldTurf Core surface, which has been in place at the venue since 2023.
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