The US-hosted Copa America organizers are taking heat left, right, and center. Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa blamed the organizers after things went off-kilter when Colombia fans fought against Uruguay players after the semi-final. Thereafter, Bielsa continued his rant and went off on the organizers for poor pitch conditions in major stadiums. While Canada boss Jesse Marsch too was critical of the tournament and its organizing, he disagrees with two points Bielsa raised in his unhinged rant.

Firstly, Uruguay’s Darwin Nunez and others did not get a CONMEBOL sanction for physically confronting Colombia fans. During a press conference, Jesse Marsch said the CONMEBOL would have immediately sanctioned Canada players if they fought against fans. Secondly, Marsch believes the pitch conditions were just fine in the tournament. After Canada’s semi-final loss against Argentina, a reporter specifically pointed out that the pitch was off-kilter and asked Marsch’s take on the same. “I thought the pitch was ok. It’s a little soft. But I thought it played fine. It was ok,” said Marsch, via TJ Sports USA.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa has no more criticism to throw at the Copa organizers forcing the guests to play in the pitch conditions he deemed terrible. “They’ve said that the pitches are in perfect condition and all the lies they have said here, doing a press conference to say that the pitches are perfect and you see how the grass patches won’t work. And they said the training facilities are perfect, but Bolivia couldn’t train and I have pictures to prove that it’s all lies, this is a plague of liars,” said Marcelo Bielsa.

The Canadian and the Uruguayan coach’s drastically different takes on pitch conditions prove there are always two sides to a coin. However, Argentina ace Lionel Messi seems to disagree with Marsch. He too had a problem with the pitch.

Messi resonates with Bielsa’s contempt for pitch conditions, unlike Jesse Marsch

Jesse Marsch said the pitch was just fine referring to the Argentina-Canada game in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. But this is what Leo Messi had to say about the same game. “This was a very difficult match. Damn, it was so hot and the pitch was very difficult to play on,” said Messi. As a reporter pointed out while speaking to Marsch, the pitch looked damp during the Argentina-Canada game.

The MetLife Stadium that hosted Argentina’s semi-final is quite infamous for its surface. Fans must surely know that this was the same stadium where New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles, owing to terrible pitch conditions. Courtesy of soccer players’ concerns, many US stadiums started using grass instead of artificial turfs. However, as Bielsa pointed out, many of them had grass planted just three days before a match! The MetLife Stadium notably hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. If a player like Messi is unhappy with its surface, it surely is a wake-up call for the US soccer authorities to fix things before they dream big.