Female players' 'safety at risk' due to poor pitches

The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) says the information of pistillate footballers is being enactment "at risk" by substandard playing conditions successful large matches.

Arsenal were beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid successful their Women's Champions League quarter-final archetypal limb connected Tuesday, successful a lucifer played successful dreadful conditions astatine the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano.

Playing conditions astatine the stadium, usually utilized by the Real Madrid men's reserves team, deteriorated rapidly with ample patches of mud appearing connected the stitched hybrid pitch.

It followed complaints from players and pundits aft Saturday's women's League Cup last betwixt Chelsea and Manchester City astatine Pride Park, location of Championship broadside Derby County.

The transportation featured an uneven aboveground and ample patches of mud and bare turf.

The PFA, which is 1 of the biggest unions for nonrecreational footballers, said successful a connection connected X, external: "Pitches similar this don't conscionable interaction the prime of the game, they enactment subordinate information astatine risk.

"On aggregate occasions implicit the past fewer days, successful important ties, our members person been asked to play successful substandard conditions.

"World-class players merit world-class standards, and they are close to expect better."

The transportation astatine Estadio Alfredo di Stefano is deemed an elite aboveground by Uefa, however, it deteriorated severely earlier Tuesday's crippled pursuing dense rainfall.

Around 5 to 10mm of rainfall was forecast to autumn successful Madrid this week, as Spain is deed by storms., external

There was a transportation inspection earlier kick-off by the refereeing squad and it was deemed playable, however, erstwhile the crippled started it began to chopped up badly.

It made free-flowing shot adjacent intolerable for some Arsenal and Real Madrid, with some sets of players covered successful mud by full-time.

It was the 2nd specified incidental successful a large women's lucifer successful a substance of days, pursuing Chelsea's 2-1 League Cup last triumph implicit Manchester City.

The last does not person a imperishable home, dissimilar the men's crippled which is ever played astatine Wembley, and took spot past twelvemonth astatine Molineux.

The big nine is required to guarantee the transportation is successful bully condition, with venues identified during the wintertime months to person the resources to present a precocious standard.

No concerns were flagged by lucifer officials during their pre-match checks astatine Pride Park, however, ample patches of mud and soil were disposable by the second stages of the game.

While Uefa has not made an authoritative remark astir the authorities of the transportation during Real Madrid v Arsenal, fierce disapproval followed from players, managers and pundits.

Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright described the transportation arsenic a "disgrace" successful a video connected his Instagram page.

Gunners manager Renee Slegers said she did not privation to criticise Real Madrid oregon Uefa, but expressed her unhappiness.

"I deliberation we've seen a mates of games lately wherever the transportation conditions haven't been great," she said aft the match.

"We had a program for it, but past it's ever hard due to the fact that implicit a play and implicit clip you enactment connected things and you person an identity, the mode you privation to bash things. Then world comes and these conditions travel and each of a abrupt you request to bash things differently, truthful that's hard."

Chelsea's players were overmuch little diplomatic aft the women's League Cup final.

"I don't deliberation this aboveground was acceptable for a last to beryllium honorable with you," Scotland midfielder Erin Cuthbert told BBC One. "We didn't play astatine our champion but we conscionable hung successful there."

Blues manager Sonia Bompastor added: "It is simply a shame to person this transportation for a final, particularly erstwhile you expect successful England to person the champion groundsmen and pitches successful the world.

"I'm not definite if it was a men's last crippled it would beryllium the same. We conscionable request to marque definite we person the champion facilities and writer to play the games."