The owners of Wembley Stadium are under pressure to explain why one of football's most revered pitches has become embarrassingly poor, with players and managers complaining that it is dangerous and demanding action.
Before the old Wembley was demolished in 2000, the lush surface was famous around the world for its quality. Since it was rebuilt in 2007, the pitch has been re-laid 10 times with critics complaining the stadium is overused to pay for its enormous cost.
Just over a year before Wembley hosts the Champions League final, the state of the pitch came under fire again after last weekend's FA Cup semifinals in which players repeatedly slipped on a surface that cut up far too easily.
Tottenham striker Peter Crouch blamed the flakey surface for Portsmouth's first goal in Spurs' 2-0 loss and his manager, Harry Redknapp, said it was dangerous and needed to be replaced.
The Football Association, which owns Wembley, said it understands the problems and is working with experts to find a solution.
"We accept and understand the frustrations around the standard of the pitch at Wembley for last weekend's FA Cup semifinals," the FA said Tuesday in a statement. "The problems faced on Saturday were due to the way the surface was prepared and the measures used overnight were unable to resolve the situation sufficiently for the match on Sunday.
"There is a unique challenge with the surface at Wembley and we are working with expert pitch consultants to get it right. Wembley Stadium is a multipurpose venue and we have to hold other events as part of the business plan, which means regular pitch replacements each year."
Wembley is hosting a rugby union game on Saturday between Saracens and Harlequins and there are eight football matches up to the end of May, including the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Portsmouth on May 15 and a World Cup warmup between England and Mexico nine days later.
The FA said it would decide next week after the rugby game whether to re-lay the pitch. But that seems likely after what happened at the weekend at the Chelsea-Aston Villa and Tottenham-Portsmouth semifinals.
"It was ridiculous. Everyone was slipping all over the place and it proved more costly for us because it caused Michael Dawson to slip for their goal," Crouch said after his side lost 2-0 to Portsmouth. "No one could stand up. There is no getting away from it."
Redknapp said the pitch was dangerous and called for it to be re-laid.
"Dig it up and put another one down," he said. "It's rock hard and wet on the top. They don't run race horses when it's like that because it's dangerous.
"It's farcical. We have a football pitch that players can't stand up on. It can't be right can it when people just keep falling over. You wouldn't see that Sunday morning in the park. You've got a fantastic stadium and everything's perfect except the pitch."
Only 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from Wembley is Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, which has one of the best playing surfaces in the country. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said the FA had to do something to improve the Wembley pitch to boost England's bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.
"I cannot imagine that England goes for the bid of the World Cup with a bad pitch," Wenger said. "The fact that the most renowned stadium in the football world has a bad pitch is not acceptable.
"I am confident that the federation will sort matters out, but it cannot remain like that if everyone complains after the game that the pitch is not good enough."
The FA uses Wembley often - including for music concerts and auto racing events - to recoup some of the 800 million pound cost, and the result is that the pitch usually has little time to recover.
Gordon Taylor, head of the players' union, said the problem had been around since Wembley was reopened.
"The pitch is a big concern," Taylor said. "It is becoming an embarrassment for the FA and it needs to be addressed and addressed properly.
"There is no point worrying about the finances of Wembley if people are going to be wary of playing there because the pitch is not up to it and you don't get a fair contest."
