It was reported Tuesday that the NFL was considering moving Monday Night’s highly anticipated matchup between the Rams and Chiefs in Mexico City back stateside due to the poor field conditions left by a recent concert at Azteca Stadium.
They may have no choice to now.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a number of both Rams and Chiefs players are strongly considering boycotting the game if they are forced to play on a field they deem unsafe to avoid injury.
If Monday night’s game is played in Mexico City, a number of Rams and Chiefs players are now strongly considering not playing in that game on that messy surface, per sources. “It’s not fair to risk our health,” one prominent player said today.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2018
The league is working with the field manager at the stadium to ensure a safe, “NFL quality” field is in place for the game, but the conditions from two days ago look anything but.
The #Chiefs–#Rams matchup is the game everyone is looking forward to and this is the current condition of the field in Mexico City: pic.twitter.com/1D5sp9FPfU
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) November 13, 2018
The league ran into problems with the playing surface for international games when they first played a game across the pond and played at Wembley Stadium outside of London where the field was far too soft and slippery.