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"You don't want to replace the pitches? La la la la, I can't hear you..." Czarek Sokolowski/AP/Press Association Images
Pitch battle

Sure thing, Michel: Platini wants Poland to replace all of their Euro 2012 pitches

The pitches in Poznan and Gdansk, where Ireland will play their Group C games, are among those which UEFA wants relaid.

MICHEL PLATINI HAS told Polish organisers that they will need to replace the pitches in all four of their stadiums ahead of this summer’s European Championships.

The UEFA President made the comments during a trip to Warsaw yesterday where he visited the newly-built 58,000-seater National Stadium, the venue for the tournament’s opening game between Poland and Greece on 8 June.

Platini said that UEFA has “demanded that all four surfaces are changed”, the Daily Mail reports, but did not go into specifics as to the exact problem.

The news will be of interest to Giovanni Trapattoni and the Republic of Ireland squad who are based in Poland for the group stages of the tournament. Ireland play Croatia and Italy in Poznan’s Municipal Stadium and Spain in Gdansk’s PGE Arena.

The Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw is the fourth Polish venue due to be used for Euro 2012.

Platini also visited Lviv as part of yesterday’s itinerary and, his concerns about the Polish pitches aside, appeared pleased with how preparations are shaping up with less than two months to go.

“I congratulate the Polish and Ukrainian people on the fact that they saw the opportunity and took advantage of it,” Platini said (UEFA.com)

“During my meeting with Michel Platini, I heard only positive words,” added Joanna Mucha, Poland’s Sports Minister.

“We are prepared for the EURO and everything is going according to the schedule. Only the last details are being sorted out now.”

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