Barcelona have been accused of ‘carelessness’ following a report that first uncovered major hygiene problems at their iconic Camp Nou stadium back in 2013.
A recently published ‘due diligence’ report commissioned by the new board when they came to office in March highlighted ‘deteriorated facilities’ and concluded that both Camp Nou and the facilities at Ciutat Esportiva had been left in ‘precarious conditions’.
But a report initially conducted by a third party company eight years ago suggested that pigeon nests covered in excrement had caused a huge hygiene issue, especially as there was evidence of the excrement falling into food preparation areas.
“The situation was deplorable,” Toni Mora, who commissioned the original report, told local broadcaster RAC1.
“The word here is carelessness. The nests had probably been there for a couple of years, given the amount and size of them. If it was just a recent thing there would only have been a few twigs.”
ESPN report that, having been informed of the problems by Gold Service, requiring an ‘urgent review’ of cleanliness inside the stadium, Barcelona never got in touch with the company to take any sort of action and rectify the situation.
It has also recently been reported by La Vanguardia that structural issues at Camp Nou posed a risk to fan safety at games in 2019 and 2020. There are said to be 127 cracks at the stadium, with 44 of those deemed to be dangerous enough to have potentially caused injury.
In their due diligence report, the current board vowed to ‘reactivate investment in assets and resolve stadium deficiencies’, as well as renovate Ciutat Esportiva.
Barcelona intend to work on Camp Nou over the coming years, increasing capacity to 110,000, but this is expected to mean the club has to spend at least one season playing home games elsewhere.
Chief executive Ferran Reverter has said this week that the current board have a ‘credible’ plan to ensure the club remains one of the best in the world. That plan rests on ‘three pillars’ – La Masia and the ‘Barça style’, modernise the facilities and find new sources of revenue.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Barcelona accused of 'carelessness' amid major hygiene concerns at Camp Nou.
Source: www.90min.com