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News
Ferguson enters Wembley pitch row
Mon 20th Apr 09 - 0:31
Sir Alex Ferguson joined the chorus of disapproval over the state of Wembley's pitch after Manchester United lost to Everton in their FA Cup semi-final.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger called the surface "a disaster" and "laughable" after Saturday's defeat by Chelsea.
And worries over the pitch prompted Ferguson to field a youthful team.
"They've got all these lights around the perimeter to help the growth and the standard of the soil but it looks dead to me," said the United manager.
Wembley took seven years to build and cost £750m but the surface appeared to cut up severely throughout both matches at the weekend, which were played in dry conditions.
If you go to a lot of places in Europe and Africa you get pitches that are a lot worse than that
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink
"It is not a pitch for a stadium like that," stated Wenger. "You spend all that money and still have no pitch."
After watching Saturday's match, Ferguson took the decision to pull Paul Scholes, Berbatov and Patrice Evra from his starting line-up, although all three came on as substitutes.
"When I saw the pitch what I didn't want was to go into extra time with my strongest squad," added Ferguson after his side were beaten 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out following a 0-0 draw.
"Yesterday it looked spongy and dead and difficult to move the ball quickly around it. So we had to go with the bold decision of playing the younger ones.
"After all, our club is built on giving young players opportunities and they didn't disappoint."
Since reopening its doors two years ago, the Wembley pitch has often come in for criticism. The current one is the fifth to have been laid in that brief timeframe.
Australia's rugby union authorities launched an investigation into whether it contributed to two Wallaby players being injured in an international against the Barbarians in December 2008.
England's 3-2 defeat at home to Croatia in November 2007 - a result that cost them a place at Euro 2008 - was played out in treacherous conditions as heavy rain failed to drain away from the field of play.
Croatia manager Slaven Bilic criticised the state of the pitch, which only weeks earlier had hosted an American football game.
The stadium has also hosted the Race of Champions rally event, where it was covered in tarmac, as well as a number of music concerts and rugby league's Challenge Cup final.
The turf is not scheduled to be relaid again until after the summer, by which time the three Football League play-offs, the FA Cup final and England's World Cup qualifier with Andorra will have all been played at the stadium.
Wembley is also set to host the 2011 Champions League final.
However, Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink was not critical of the playing conditions at Britain's premier sporting arena.
"If you go to a lot of places in Europe and Africa you get pitches that are a lot worse than that," he insisted.
"I don't think you should start talking about the pitch, whether you win or lose. It was fine to play on."
The Football Association has yet to comment on the state of the Wembley pitch.
