Sports Hub: Fans complain about state of pitch
The Singapore Selection took on Italian giants Juventus on a pitch that looked more brown than emerald green on Saturday (Aug 17).
The newly opened National Stadium is the centre piece of the $1.3 billion Sports Hub and while there were a lot of plaudits for the stadium's facilities, the pitch drew some flak online.
It was clear that even people at home noticed the poor condition of the pitch during the live telecast.
It wasn't just the fans who complained - Juventus coach Massimo Allegri had also commented about the quality of the pitch.
Our print edition earlier reported him saying that he opted not to use Argentinean Carlos Tevez because of the pitch.
"Tevez was rested as a precaution we wanted to avoid injuries on this sandy pitch," he said after the match.
These complaints come after assurances from the company running the Sports Hub that the pitch would be ready.
In a TNP report on May 20, Philippe Collin Delavaud, chief executive of the Singapore Sports Hub, gave his assurance that the pitch would be ready in time for first sporting event in June, which was the World Club 10s rugby tournament.
Despite that, the tournament was played on a pitch that was described as "sandy."
Not that it mattered to the rugby players involved in the tournament or Pirlo, who managed to pull the strings to defeat the Singapore selection by five unanswered goals last weekend.
Speaking to TNP over the weekend, national player Hariss Harun agreed that the pitch was "not in the best shape" but said he was confident it would be "rectified soon, when the grass has time to grow".
Let's hope it does, when the Brazilian and Japanese national squads arrive here on Oct 14 expecting a world class stadium... and a perfect pitch.
Source: Twitter
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