Beth Mead says the state Actual Madrid’s pitch for the Champions League quarter-final win over Arsenal was “not good enough” for ladies’s soccer – and reveals how far the sport nonetheless has to go.
Actual Madrid beat Arsenal 2-0 in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg however the fallout from the match has targeted on the poor taking part in circumstances.
Gunners boss Renee Slegers stated the pitch performed a component within the defeat, whereas Actual midfielder Melanie Leupolz got here off injured with what seemed like a critical knee damage after slipping off the ball.
The state of the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium pitch drew criticism from Arsenal legend Ian Wright, who branded it a shame, whereas the Gamers Soccer Affiliation (PFA) stated it endangered the security of the gamers.
The state of the pitch led to widespread criticism
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had to play on a pitch that’s felt like that in my career,” Mead stated to Sky Sports activities Information on Thursday from Arsenal’s membership store.
“It’s disappointing for a quarter-final of a Champions League. It’s a pitch that both us and Real Madrid had to play in and it’s not just the state of the pitch, it’s for the safety of the players. And it was not ideal. Melanie Leupolz went down injured off the ball because she slipped on the pitch.”
Simply days earlier there was criticism of Derby County’s Delight Park pitch, which hosted Chelsea’s Continental Cup ultimate win over Manchester Metropolis final weekend.
Melanie Leupolz of Actual Madrid lies injured
“It’s the same for the Conti Cup Final – it’s not good enough for what we want to showcase in the women’s game,” added Mead. “Hopefully it’s something that is rectified soon.
“The ladies’s recreation is in such place, however finally we have nonetheless acquired an extended strategy to go. These are the boundaries we’re having to face.
“When you look at a quarter-final of a Champions League in the men’s game, you wouldn’t be seeing those conditions. So why would you be seeing them in the women’s game, when they’re doing exactly the same thing?”
Arsenal will welcome Actual subsequent week for the second leg on the Emirates Stadium, the identical venue the place the boys’s staff play all their house matches.
“They coped with the demands of the pitch better than what we did at the time,” stated Mead. “That’s obviously a disappointment from our side but we have the second leg ,so we’ve got to put a performance here at the Emirates.
“We’re assured as a staff, we all know we’re adequate. Now we have now to be ruthless in entrance of aim, it is what we have now to do within the leg now we’re two objectives behind. We have now to be scoring objectives to get again into the sport.”
How soccer reacted to Actual Madrid’s pitch
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Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright and The Athletic’s David Ornstein slammed the state of Actual Madrid’s pitch throughout the Girls’s Champions League quarter-final fixture towards Arsenal.
Taking to Instagram Stay within the first half of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final, former Arsenal males’s striker Ian Wright stated: “This is worse than Derby’s pitch the other day.
“It is a ******* shame the pitches these women need to play on.”
And on Wednesday evening, the Professional Footballers Association [PFA] joined the criticism of the pitch conditions.
A spokesperson told Sky Sports News: “Pitches like this do not simply impression the standard of the sport, they put participant security in danger.
“On multiple occasions over the past few days, in important ties, our members have been asked to play in sub-standard conditions. World-class players deserve world-class standards, and they are right to expect better.”
Actual Madrid didn’t use their foremost Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the sport towards Arsenal
Requested in regards to the name to not use the stadium, Arsenal boss Slegers stated: “It’s not on me to criticise. That’s obviously a club decision and I’m sure that UEFA is trying to create the best conditions for the tournament.
“After all climate will not be inside management, however I believe we have seen a few video games these days the place the pitch circumstances have not been nice and I believe that is the following step for ladies’s soccer to take.
“We spoke about it with the players before the game. We knew the condition of the pitch. So we had a plan for it but then it’s always hard, because over a season and over time you work on things, and you have an identity, the way you want to do things.
“So then actuality comes and these circumstances come and impulsively it is advisable do issues in another way, in order that’s laborious. However the gamers tried, so all credit score to them for attempting and their work charge.
“But again, I think we’re all confident that we can do something against them at the Emirates at home because it’s only half time.”
Sky Sports activities Information reporter Anton Toloui posted on X after the sport to criticise the choice to let the sport on the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium go forward.
“This pitch is barely enough for Sunday league never mind a Champions League quarter-final,” he wrote.
“Thinking it’s OK sends the following message: we don’t care about player safety, we don’t care about the quality of the game… actually, we just don’t care.”
