Real Madrid’s Club World Cup semi-final match against Cruz Azul has been switched to Marrakech from Rabat because of concerns over the state of the pitch.
None of the teams involved in the tournament already have been able to train on the picth at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah. And the pitch deteriorated rapidly at the weekend after a serious downpour took place and two quarter-final matches were played. Cruz Azul beat Western Sydney Wanderers and Auckland City saw off Setif.
Speaking after their win to set up a semi against Real Madrid, Cruz Azul boss Luis Tena said he doubted whether the pitch was able to be be played on at all for the rest of the tournament.
“We need to take into account the way that they apply corrective measures on the turf, so let us hope that they have the ability to make it recover. But we have to be realistic, and there is very little time available for it to recover,” he said.
FIFA later confirmed the switch on Sunday evening. In a statement, it stated: “”Due to the difficult pitch conditions at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, the Fifa Organising Committee has decided, following consultation with the Local Organising Committee to play match 4 (Cruz Azul FC v Real Madrid CF) in Marrakech and not in Rabat as previously scheduled. The match will kick off on Tuesday, December 16 at 20:30CET.”
