The turf at the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale is becoming a problem for the players. The slippery green is not up to the task, and the groundskeeper in particular is being criticised.

“I’m here to give the players the best possible conditions so they can play on a safe field.”

These were the words chosen by groundskeeper George Toma in an interview with “Fox News” last Friday. The Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs was already the 57th NFL final game that Toma has overseen in his capacity. Never before has the 94-year-old received such negative feedback after his work.

There was a hail of criticism for Toma on social media during and after the game. The reason: the lawn, which was unworthy of a Super Bowl.

Super Bowl: Lawn becomes a water park

The green was cultivated for two years for the game – on a special farm in nearby Phoenix. The subsoil, which consists of a mixture of Bermuda grass and rye grass and is used on many golf courses worldwide, cost 800,000 US dollars. However, the grass mixture was not convincing. Time and again, the players had problems staying on their feet. Countless of them slipped on the slippery and slippery grass, and the kickers of both teams also struggled.

Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata said after the game that the pitch was “terrible” and resembled playing in a “water park”. In addition, Mailata revealed that players from both teams had exchanged comments during commercial breaks about how bad the turf was.

Teammate Haason Reddick got much more drastic in his choice of words. “I’m not going to lie, that’s the worst field I’ve ever played on,” the defensive end rumbled. “It was very disappointing. We’re in the NFL, you’d think the turf would be better so we could create better plays. But it is what it is.”

He added: “Maybe the league can look at it and tell Arizona they need to do a better job.”

Three-time Super Bowl winner Mark Schlereth echoed similar sentiments. The former offensive lineman called the turf “absolute rubbish” on Twitter and said the NFL should be “absolutely ashamed of itself. “

This field is absolute trash. The NFL should be absolutely embarrassed

– Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) February 13, 2023

Turf no excuse for Eagles

Meanwhile, the Eagles did not use the conditions as an excuse for their failure. “It’s not like we played on ice and they played on grass, we all had to play on it,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni clarified.

Incidentally, for groundsman Toma, the inadequate green is unlikely to have any consequences despite all the criticism. He already announced before the game that Super Bowl LVII will probably be his last.