Despite growing complaints about the Maracanã Stadium surface, the Ravens’ game against the Dallas Cowboys is still expected to stay put in Rio de Janeiro.
An NFL spokesperson told The Banner on Sunday that the league does not plan to move next Sunday’s matchup and has a plan in place to make sure the field meets league standards.
The concern comes after soccer players voiced frustration with the pitch in recent days. A game was also scheduled for Sunday night, adding more attention to the condition of the surface.
“You don’t even need to talk about the field. It’s there for everyone to see,” Flamengo goalkeeper Agustín Rossi said, according to ge, a Brazilian sports media site.
“The way we play, it’s unbelievable that we’re playing on a field like this. Both penalty areas are bad as [expletive].
If you look at it, there are bumps everywhere. There’s still going to be an NFL game here during the international break.
After that game, I hope the field is in better shape.”
Flamengo midfielder Giorgian De Arrascaeta was just as blunt: “We’ve been struggling a lot in these last few games, and the field keeps getting worse. It’s getting harder and harder to control the ball.
We have to try to play quickly. If we want to be champions, we have to find a solution.
With the team we have, we can’t be playing on a field like this.”
Next Sunday’s game is technically a Cowboys home date, which means Dallas could choose to stage it at AT&T Stadium instead. The only thing currently on the venue’s schedule for next weekend is a watch party.
The NFL has shifted international games back to the United States before when field conditions became an issue. In 2018, a Chiefs-Rams game originally set for Mexico City was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum because of poor conditions at Estadio Azteca, with the change announced six days before kickoff.
Two years later, during the coronavirus pandemic, the league moved all five of its scheduled international games to U.S. stadiums instead of playing them in London or Mexico City.
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