Olympiakos angry over Greek Cup final pitch

ATHENS: Olympiakos coach Pedro Martins on Friday called the Greek football federation “incompetent” for scheduling Sunday’s Greek Cup final at the Athens Olympic Stadium, describing the pitch there as “shameful”.

“This match should be the symbol of Greek football. The fact that they (federation) chose this date and this playing field shows their incompetence. I’m sorry, but I can’t find another word,” the Portuguese coach said after the club held a training session at the stadium in preparation for the contest against AEK Athens.

Martins told Cosmote TV that the final should have been scheduled at an earlier date “and now we come to this stadium today and see the pitch in an awful state. This is lack of respect in football itself. They do not respect footballers.”

“It is a shame and shows absolute incompetence. Greece must change the way it treats football and start respecting it because hosting a cup final at this stadium is really unacceptable and shows a lack of respect for all of us,” Martins said.

Earlier, Olympiakos communications director Nikos Gavalas posted on social media a video of the poor conditions of the stadium’s pitch, saying the grass had been “practically abandoned”.