KOCHI: Kerala Blasters Football Club has expressed concerns about the damaged condition of the turf at the Jawaharlal Nehru International (JLN) Stadium ahead of its match against Odisha FC on Monday.
"The pitch, which had been one of the top playing surfaces in stadiums across the country, has deteriorated significantly. The poor condition of the pitch was noted during inspections conducted ahead of the scheduled ISL match on Monday," read an official statement by Kerala Blasters FC.
The stadium, managed by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and home to Kerala Blasters, recently hosted a controversial Guinness Record Bharatanatyam event, which involved 12,000 dancers. Reports indicate the turf was damaged during the event, with allegations that a caravan vehicle was driven across the field.
Super League team Forca Kochi FC also uses the stadium as their home ground.
"Conducting a third-party non-sporting event on the field of play has resulted in damage that is detrimental to the club and the Indian Super League," the club said in its statement, adding that no precautionary measures were taken to prevent the damage.
The club further stated that its pitch maintenance team is now working tirelessly, day and night, to restore the turf to match-ready condition. "This effort has incurred significant monetary costs," the statement added.
The 'Guinness Record' event has sparked major controversy due to poor management and security lapses, one of which resulted in local MLA Uma Thomas falling from a 10-foot-high stage set up in the stadium gallery, causing serious injuries.
The club's statement comes two weeks after the controversial event.
Meanwhile, GCDA officials have yet to respond to the allegations. "We will look into the issue on Monday after carefully examining the club's statement," said an official from GCDA.