NFL matches at Wembley not to blame for poor pitch, insist stadium officials

 

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Concerns: Wembley hosted an NFL match on Sunday, six days before England's game against Slovenia
Standard Sport10 November 2014

Wembley Stadium officials are refusing to blame the poor condition of the field on the decision to stage three NFL games at the venue in a six-week span.

England manager Roy Hodgson has raised concerns about the state of the surface ahead of his team's European Championship qualifier against Slovenia on Saturday.

Hodgson has questioned the decision to host the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

However, Roger Maslin, Wembley's managing director, says "this isn't so much a problem of the NFL but slightly too much topsoil (on the surface) during the summer renovation."

Maslin says the surface is unlikely to be back to its best until March.

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