The pitch at the Stade Louis II has come in for fierce criticism, not least from AS Monaco themselves, following a 1-1 draw against RC Lens on Sunday.
The pitch, affected by the heatwave in the region over the summer, as well as other events held at the government-owned stadium, was in a poor state for Les Monégasques’ second home game of the Ligue 1 season, as it was for their opener against AS Saint-Étienne.
Lens manager Will Still even attributed the quality of the pitch to the injury of Anass Zaroury, who was replaced before half-time. It is suspected that the former Burnley man suffered a sprained ankle. Speaking in a mixed zone interview, attended by Get French Football News, AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro apologised for the state of the pitch, before issuing a promise.
“We are working hard to be able to change the pitch in the coming days. We can promise that there will be a much better pitch for our next game at home, against Barcelona (in the UEFA Champions League),” said Scuro. A much more playable pitch is therefore expected ahead of Monaco’s return to the Champions League.
