"It could have ruined a career."
Dane Andreas Skov Olsen still couldn't believe it several minutes after the end of the match between his country and Austria on Monday evening.
With his number 11 on his back, he had just set foot in a hole formed at the level of the central circle of the lawn of the Ernst-Happel stadium in Vienna.
A cavity estimated from between 20 and 40 cm depending on the sources.
On the images, Andreas Skov Olsen (who measures 1.87 m) could insert up to half of his calf in this hole, which fortunately appeared after the meeting won by Denmark.
"It's extremely dangerous if someone falls in, you can break your leg," he whispered to Danish television.
His coach Kasper Hjulmand continued at a press conference, referring to a "heavy pitch, with high grass, in very poor condition and dangerous for the players".
Images that have not escaped the French team, expected this Friday evening in the Austrian capital to play their third League of Nations match.
The French Football Federation has approached UEFA to express its concerns.
The parent company of European football opened an investigation, still ongoing on Wednesday, helped by the Austrian Federation (ÖFB) and the operator of the Wiener Sportstätten stadium.
Since Tuesday, specialists have been on site to determine the reasons for the sudden creation of this cavity.
According to the spokesperson for Wiener Sportstätten, quoted by the Austrian Press Agency, “any technical failure can be ruled out”.
The favored track would lead to the recent heavy rains that hit Vienna.
According to these experts, the rise of the Danube, located less than 200 meters from the stadium, could have raised the level of the water table and, consequently, caused movements of the different layers lying under the lawn.
The area where the cavity was located was removed from the containment and filled in.
This Wednesday, the approximately 8,000 m2 of lawn were examined by magnetic resonance in order to assess the possible presence of other dangerous zones.
Around 1,000 m2 of grass are also planned to improve the quality of the pitch.
This should cause visual differences, warned the ÖFB, for spectators and viewers.
Nothing more ?
A definitive answer should be provided on the holding of the match by UEFA this Wednesday evening.
All scenarios (postponement, cancellation, displacement) remained open this Wednesday afternoon.