Charlotte FC refuse to change artificial grass to accommodate Lionel Messi

The Argentine scored in his first game and first start for Inter Miami

Lionel Messi’s arrival to MLS side Inter Miami has been nothing short of a fairy tale. The Argentine since arriving in Florida, has racked up 3 goals and bagged one assist in just 2 games and 1 start. However, his dream start at Inter Miami seems to have hit a roadblock related to the playing conditions.

Messi’s Inter Miami are scheduled to face Charlotte FC on October 22nd, in what will be the last day of the MLS regular season. The game will be played in The Bank of America stadium, the home ground of Charlotte FC. However, the ground at the stadium is not made up of natural grass and is an artificial turf. The concern here is that Lionel Messi has never played on an artificial turf throughout his career as they are not prevalent in European countries, where Messi has spent most of his career.

Artificial turfs are said to make players more injury prone and are not preferred by most high-level football players. When Arsenal legend Thierry Henry signed for MLS side New York Red Bulls, he was never seen playing on artificial turfs.

During his time with LA Galaxy, superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic refused to play on artificial turfs, stating that the risk was too great to his knees. He even went to the extent of saying that he would only play on an artificial turf if it were a matter of “life and death”.

When Messi’s arrival to Miami was announced, MLS commissioner Don Garber stated that he expected all teams in the MLS that hadn’t already made the switch to change to natural grass. At the moment, six teams in the MLS play on artificial turfs.

It must be noted that The Bank of America stadium had changed to natural grass to host two USA gold cup matches in July, and even hosted a friendly against Chelsea last year on natural grass.

When asked about the situation, a Charlotte FC spokesperson said: "All of our MLS, matches are scheduled to be played on turf, there is no plan to change to natural grass”.

Messi himself has not made any statement now. However, it is entirely possible that he might not feature in the game in October and would want to avoid injury. Additionally, his teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba may want to sit out the game as well.

Some say that Messi’s absence from that game might give Charlotte a tactical advantage, who will be looking to gain a result on what will be the last day of the MLS regular season.