Arsenal raised concerns over the length of the grass on the Metropolitano Stadium hours before their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
With an hour to go before kick-off, CBS Sports showed footage of Arsenal’sground staff inspecting the pitch with a tool which measures the peak of the surface.
UEFA’s rules state that the peak of the grass must not exceed 30mm and the complete playing surface have to be cut to the identical level.
CBS Sports reporter Guillem Balague revealed that Arsenal asked UEFA to perform an inspection, which confirmed that the pitch has been cut to 26mm.
‘I want to inform you in regards to the grass war that took place nearly an hour ago,’ Balague said.
‘Arsenal’s ground staff got here in considering the grass is just too high, ‘we’re not completely satisfied with it’.
‘They asked UEFA to really measure it. They thought it was [Diego] Simeone creating some dark arts.
‘After some time, UEFA said ‘no, it’s actually 26mm’. The limit is 30mm. It’s 21-30mm. By the way in which, it was the identical as once they played Barcelona here.’
Earlier this month, Barcelona had also complained in regards to the length of the grass Metropolitano Stadium ahead of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Atletico.
Barcelona’s head coach, Hansi Flick, was seen discussing the pitch UEFA’s match delegate throughout the team’s final training session.
Nonetheless, Atletico had not breached UEFA’s ruled because the pitch was cut to 26mm.
Managers raise concerns over the peak of the grass as an extended playing surface slows down the speed of the ball, making it harder for teams with a fast-passing kind of play.
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