Newsletters
Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 opener against Stade Rennais has been moved from the club's home stadium, the Parc des Princes in Paris, to Rennes' home ground, Roazhon Park in western France, after summer heat waves severely damaged the pitch, the reigning French champions announced on Wednesday.
The club said a series of successive, exceptional heat waves across the Paris region this summer had significantly accelerated the deterioration of the playing surface.
"The pitch is now severely damaged, just days before the Paris Saint-Germain–Stade Rennais match scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 23 at 8:45 p.m. as part of the first matchday of Ligue 1," the club said.
PSG said the decision followed a pitch assessment carried out with the French Professional Football League (LFP).
"This assessment concluded that the current conditions did not allow the match to be played under satisfactory conditions, particularly regarding the safety and physical integrity of the players, which remain the absolute priority," the club said.
In agreement with the LFP and Stade Rennais, the match will instead be played on Sunday at Roazhon Park at the originally scheduled time.
PSG added that it had identified a solution to replace the Parc des Princes pitch before its next home match, against Monaco on Sept. 4.
Mainland France has experienced a record 52 heat wave days across three spells since mid-June, the highest annual total since records began in 1947.
The August heat wave is the second-longest recorded in the country. Temperatures reached 44.3 degrees Celsius (111.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in southwestern France during the June heat wave.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
