Turf wars in San Siro: Atlético's watered down petition met

The state of the turf at the San Siro has been discussed at the highest levels in the run-up to the final and on Saturday, hours away from the showpiece game, both Real Madrid and Atlético met with Uefa officials to hammer out an agreement over how many times the pitch should be watered before the teams emerge from the tunnel.

Real asked that the sprinklers be turned on three times, including a dousing at half time, while Atlético only wanted one hosing down before the match. After much discussion, it was decided that Atlético’s petition would be met.

Uefa last week expressed their concerns about the pitch at San Siro, with the governing body’s Senior Match Operations Manager Keith Dalton terming the turf “not fit to host a final.”

Milan City Hall responded indignantly to the claims, pointing out that Dalton had not visited the San Siro in the three years elapsed since the stadium was chosen to host the 2016 final.

The pitch is in a much better state than a week ago, although there are concerns that the grass is a little longer than desirable.