Lionel Messi: Lionel Messi has spent most of his career in Europe where artificial turfs are rare and considered dangerous. However, Messi has joined MLS where many clubs in the league use artificial turf. When Messi joined, MLS commissioner Don Garber said that he ‘expected’ that these clubs would temporarily switch to natural grass to host Messi. However, Charlotte FC have become the first team to say that they won’t be switching their turf for Messi. There are a few previous instances where they temporarily switched to natural grass.
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Recently a Charlotte FC spokesperson commented on the matter in an email to The Charlotte Observer saying, “All of our Major League Soccer matches are scheduled to be played on turf. There is no plan to change to natural grass.” Charlotte FC will host Inter Miami in their home ground, The Bank of America Stadium on 21st October. The team also share with the NFL team Carolina Panthers. Their stadium is one of five artificial turfs that are used by MLS Eastern Conference teams.
Lionel Messi has spent the majority part of his career in Europe. Artificial turfs are rare in Europe and are even considered harmful and dangerous. That’s why it became a topic of concern when he decided to join MLS. When MLS commissioner Don Garber was asked regarding the matter, he said that he ‘expected’ the clubs that use artificial turfs would switch temporarily to natural turfs to host Messi and Inter Miami. However, it seems that Charlotte FC are the first team to have spoken up on the matter.
There are 4 other clubs that use artificial turf other than Charlotte FC in the MLS Eastern Conference. They are – Toronto FC, New England Revolution, Atlanta United FC, and FC Cincinnati. Inter Miami have an away match against FC Cincinnati on 24th August which is a U.S. Open Cup semi-final match. In MLS, they have away matches against Atlanta United on 16th September and against Charlotte FC on the last matchday of the season on 21st October. Messi and Co. might have to play all these matches on artificial turf.
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Other clubs have not yet commented on the matter. However, it is understandable that no club would want to hand their opponent an advantage. Especially when they have some of this generation’s greatest footballers, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba in their team. In Charlotte FC’s case, their home match against Inter Miami could be a deciding one. They are currently 4 points below the postseason line. If Inter Miami begin to rise to the top, then the match will be especially important for Charlotte FC.
This could be the only reason for their unwillingness to temporarily switch to natural grass as there have been previous instances of the switch. Notably, they switched to natural grass for their friendly match against Chelsea last year. Most recently, they again did it during the two Gold Cup matches that included the USA vs Trinidad and Tobago earlier in July. It is still unclear whether other clubs will follow suit. However, as of now, it seems Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will have to play on artificial turf against Charlotte FC.
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