Real Betis are having to alternate their training sessions between three different venues, due to refurbishment and poor quality pitches.
The club started work to improve facilities at their primary training ground of Los Bermejales last week and were expected in the interim to base training at the Estadio de La Cartuja.
However, the team’s first workout at the unused stadium in Seville drew the ire of Coach Pepe Mel, who was caught by cameras in attendance angrily complaining to President Miguel Guillen.
This was because of the playing field’s quality, with the turf cutting up in several areas after the short session. The conclusion by the Coach and his players was that injury would be risked by continually working on the surface.
Guillen spoke to reporters afterwards and explained that the club will now be using a combination of Los Bermejales, La Cartuja and their home stadium of Benito Villamarin to host training.
“We will be continuously rotating because fortunately we have several options,” the President explained.
“I have come to see the first training session [at La Cartuja] and it is true that we anticipated this slightly, because we knew that the grass has not been played on every day.
“The treatment used on the pitch is the same as that used at Los Bermejales. At the moment we see that overuse of La Cartuja has a small risk [to the players].”
In October, the B team’s Coach Risto Vidakovic was sacked by the club for ‘sporting reasons’, but also just hours after releasing his own statement complaining about the quality of the playing surface at La Cartuja.