Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor has slammed the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the South African Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the state of the pitch at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit in Mpumaplanga Province.
The Tottenham Hotspur player complained about the sandy and bumpy surface after Togo drew 1-1 against Tunisia on Wednesday night to reach the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of nations (AFCON 2013) football competition for the first time.
They face Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals on Sunday at Mbombela Stadium.
Zambia captain Chris Katongo had also spoken out earlier in the week about the uneven field which made it difficult for teams to play their normal passing game.
"Once again we are in Africa -- Afcon is a big tournament for Africa -- the whole world is watching this. You can't play on a pitch like this," Adebayor said. "The stadium is one of the best I have played in, but to be honest with you, I'm very sorry, but it's a disgrace for our continent to be playing on this pitch when it’s on the TV around the world.
"CAF have to sort things out, to solve the problem. At the end of the day we are all African and we have to be honest with ourselves -- it's a beautiful stadium but the pitch is not happening. Those people that watch the game in Europe, they will be sending SMSs to me tonight asking me, 'are you playing in the bush or what?'. It's a disgrace to our continent, we can do better."
The issue with the playing surface arose after sand had been laid on the pitch to counter several days of heavy rain -- a move which was apparently not sanctioned by the CAF.
"South Africans had the chance to organize the 2010 World Cup," Adebayor said.
"I think CAF should have come one month before to get the pitch in a better condition, but at the end of the day we are here and we have to find a way to play."
Bernama
Sat Feb 02 2013
HARD: The Tottenham Hotspur player complained about the sandy and bumpy surface of the pitch.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 27 April 2024.
Lima cedera dalam tembakan di luar kelab malam di Washington
Lima cedera dalam insiden tembakan di luar sebuah kelab malam di Washington, Amerika Syarikat pada lewat Jumaat.
Potensi dilanda tsunami, pihak berkuasa tingkatkan amaran
Pihak berkuasa Indonesia tingkatkan lagi amaran Gunung Ruang di Sulawesi dengan mengeluarkan amaran tsunami susulan berlakunya sekali lagi letusan gunung ruang di wilayah Sulawesi utara pada Rabu.
Houthi tembak Kapal Tangki Minyak Andromeda Star di Laut Merah
Kumpulan Houthi terus melancarkan serangan ke atas kapal komersial di Laut Merah dan terbaharu serangan peluru berpandu mengenai kapal tangki minyak Andromeda Star.
Ratusan rumah, bangunan rosak dibadai puting beliung
Ratusan rumah, bangunan dan ladang ternakan di Omaha, Nebraska rosak akibat kejadian Puting beliung yang membadai kawasan itu pada petang Jumaat.
Hamas sudah terima maklum balas Israel mengenai cadangan gencatan senjata
Rundingan sebelum ini pada November lepas menyaksikan pembebasan 81 rakyat Israel dan 24 warga asing dengan pertukaran 240 warga Palestin termasuk 71 wanita dan 169 kanak-kanak.
95 kanak-kanak mangsa diselamatkan di India
Seramai 95 kanak-kanak berumur empat hingga 12 tahun diselamatkan di Uttar Pradesh di utara India, dipercayai mangsa pemerdagangan manusia dari negeri jiran, Bihar.
Pesara tentera diminta kemaskini data di JHEV
Jelas Adly setakat ini lebih 213 ribu veteran berdaftar dengan jabatan tersebut, berbanding sekitar 300,000 yang telah bersara dalam perkhidmatan.
10 Berita Pilihan - (27 April 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Tumpuan Ahad - 28 April 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.