The grass pitch at Singapore’s Sports Hub has again come under fire after Chelsea defender David Luiz called the pitch “not very good.”
The 30-year-old Brazilian player who was in the country for the 2017 International Champions Cup (ICC) eventually lost the Cup after a 1-2 defeat against Inter Milan on Saturday. Following the match, he commented:
“It was a difficult game, especially because of the pitch. The pitch is not very good… you always need two or three touches. You cannot accelerate the game with one or two touches.”
Chelsea Football Club was also defeated by Bayern Munich (2-3) ahead of their match with Inter Milan.
Luiz is not the first to call out the poor grass turf at the national stadium. Juventus team coach Massimiliano Allegri said that he didn’t field former striker Carlos Tevez because of the sandy pitch here.
Brazil football coach Dunga echoed Luiz and Allegri’s criticism:
“Most of it is sand, not grass… It’s going to be hard to pass the ball. There is more chance of getting injured in this field.”
In 2016, then-Sports Hub CEO Manu Sawhney said the pitch will only get better. He has since resigned from his post altogether, in May 2017.