In Frankfurt, the pitch caused a lot of trouble during the Bundesliga season. After the American football league NFL promoted the sport, which is becoming increasingly popular in Germany, with two guest matches at Deutsche Bank Park in November, Eintracht Frankfurt had a new pitch laid in its stadium, but decided against a new hybrid pitch and instead opted for natural pitch for cost reasons. However, after many storms in the winter, the pitch was under water for a long time and thus lost quality. Criticism was already voiced after the German national team’s international match against the Netherlands in March, and this is now continuing during the European Championship.
The Deutsche Bank Park is one of ten venues for this year’s European Championship. One of the games played in Frankfurt was England’s match against Denmark on the second match day. After the game, there was clear criticism of the quality of the pitch, especially from the Danish side. The pitch was very slippery and difficult to run on, reported Danish full-back Joiakin Maehle after the game.
The pitch was once again a topic of discussion during the DFB selection’s last match against Switzerland. During the match it became clear that the pitch was not only slippery, but also not particularly durable. After the match, the German players were not sparing in their criticism. Toni Kroos complained about the poor quality of the pitch in an interview immediately after the match and coach Julian Nagelsmann also spoke out, comparing the pitch to driving on summer tires in winter.
In response to the problems, Eintracht Frankfurt has now also reacted and has already made a decision. New grass is to be laid for the new season, reports the BildHowever, this relocation will not take place until the new season, so the European Championship participants will still have to cope with the slippery grass. The group match between Slovakia and Romania and a round of 16 match will still be played in Frankfurt. UEFA also recently commented, referring to maintenance plans and close cooperation with the stadium operators.
At least for the new Bundesliga season, the quality of the pitch in the arena should hopefully be significantly improved with new grass. However, it will again be natural grass. There is simply not enough time between the European Championships and the new season to make the extra effort of installing a hybrid lawn. However, there are already plans to finally lay a new hybrid lawn in the Frankfurt stadium next summer.
