The Impact of Synthetic Grass on Soccer: Sergio Romero's Concerns

2023-09-29 11:57:25

29/09/2023 08:57hs.

After 0-0 in the first leg, Sergio Romero expressed his concern about the type of grass at the Allianz Parque, the stadium of the Palm treesfacing the rematch of the semifinal of the Libertadores Cup. The Boca goalkeeper, who had already strongly criticized the synthetic grass in San Pablo, suggested to Conmebol and FIFA to consider options such as hybrid or natural grass for soccer, since, for synthetic grass “there is hockey.”

Chiquito Romero, against the Palmeiras grass

“I am simply concerned that it is synthetic and that it is not natural grass… It is a bit strange that at this point in life we are talking about a soccer team having a synthetic field”Romero said. “Conmebol or FIFA should say ‘either hybrid or natural grass’ because this is football. For synthetic grass there is hockey“added the Argentine goalkeeper, with the point guards.

Days after having beaten Racing on penalties, Romero had already made a defense in this regard. “The only thing that worries me about the definition there is the synthetic grass that the Palmeiras field has, regardless of whether it is a visitor,” said Chiquito. And he added: “After the result already posted here, we will know what we have to do in Palmeiras. I repeat, I have had to play in Europe, on many synthetic grass fields and not all of them are the same“.

In addition, the former AZ Alkmaar, Manchester United, Monaco, Genoa, Venice and Sampdoria goalkeeper had commented on his experience in the Netherlands. “The Heracles Almelo field was a spectacular field and the Ado den Haag field is nothing to see“, he confessed. And he completed: “That was a hard court, it made your waist, knee and everything hurt. You were trying to catch a ball and you knew that the hip pain you were going to have was going to last.. “That’s what worries me about the Palmeiras synthetic.”

However, Conmebol’s Copa Libertadores regulations allow the use of synthetic grass, as long as it meets the minimum quality standards required by FIFA, such as the FIFA Field Certificate (Quality Pro). Stadiums with synthetic grass must obtain authorization from Conmebol after receiving the quality certificate.

Despite his concerns on the pitch, Romero is confident that Boca will do well in next Thursday’s rematch and highlighted the importance of thinking carefully about the 90 minutes of the match. “We have to think about playing a good game, thinking that we have to try to win it and if we can’t, we have penalties ahead of us. We have to think very well during the 90 minutes of the game”he claimed.

Chiquito does not trust the Allianz Parque grass. (EFE)