La Liga opens disciplinary case after Barca pitch complaints

The Spanish La Liga confirmed that it opened a disciplinary case over the Real Valladolid pitch, with Barca players and manager furious at the state of the pitch at Estadio Jose Zorrilla.

Barca scraped to a 1-0 win against the La Liga newcomers as Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened to rule out a last-minute goal from Valladolid.

“After the end of the match between Real Valladolid and FC Barcelona, on match day two of La Liga Santander, disciplinary proceedings were opened over the state of the Jose Zorilla pitch that did not meet the minimum conditions required by the competition," a statement from La Liga read.

Barca defender Gerard Pique labeled the pitch as ‘disgraceful’, while midfielder Sergio Busquets said that the surface was ‘more like a beach’.

There have been upheaval surrounding La Liga matches being played in the United States with prominent players threatening a strike. Pique had felt that to sell the product that is Spanish football, outside the country, the league needed to improve conditions at home.

"If [the league] want to sell the product outside of Spain and take games to the United States, they need to look at what is going on here first," Pique said in an interview with Movistar after the game.

"[The pitch] was a disgrace. It wasn't fit for playing football on and there was a risk of injury for the players. I hope that those in charge fix it because it's shameful. It's deplorable,” he added.

Busquets said: "It's lamentable that the best league in the world is played in these conditions.

"No one from La Liga felt they should come and check the grass. You can't play on that. It's more like a beach than a football pitch, but it was the same for both teams."

Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said: "I haven't seen the grass lift like it did for a long time. It's something that has to make us think, given we want to take the league elsewhere.

"I don't think it made for a good spectacle. It's not only about winning but also the fans enjoying themselves. Luckily there were no injuries."