Paris St-Germain must relocate their first Ligue 1 match after extreme summer heat caused significant damage to the playing surface at the Parc des Princes.
The reigning French champions were scheduled to begin their title defence at home against Rennes on Sunday. However, the fixture has been switched and will now take place in Brittany.
Officials from the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) concluded after inspecting the Paris pitch that it could not host the match at an acceptable standard, especially because of concerns about player safety and physical wellbeing.
PSG plan to install a new playing surface at the Parc des Princes before their next scheduled home match against Monaco on 4 September.
The club acknowledged the disruption created by the venue change while emphasizing that the circumstances were highly unusual.
France recorded its highest-ever nationwide average temperature on 24 June, with Paris approaching 41C and half of the country placed under the most serious heat warning.
Between 22 and 28 June, the number of recorded deaths in France rose by 2,025, an increase of almost 30%. During that period, fatalities in the Paris region climbed by 62%.
Western Europe has experienced unusually intense temperatures throughout the summer, while wildfires have affected several parts of France.
A similar pitch problem recently led Spanish side Celta Vigo to delay their opening La Liga fixture against Osasuna after a fungal infection damaged the surface at Estadio de Balaidos.
Fungus developed across Celta’s playing field during a summer spell in which temperatures remained above 25C for more than three consecutive weeks.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
