PSG Ligue 1 opener moved over unsafe pitch

Paris Saint-Germain's opening match of their Ligue 1 title defence against Rennes has been moved from Parc des Princes to Rennes' Roazhon Park because of the condition of PSG's pitch, the French league said Wednesday.

The LFP said “the current state of the pitch does not allow for player safety to be guaranteed”. The match is still scheduled for Sunday, with the same date and time.

PSG said the latest heatwave, after successive hot spells in the Paris region this summer, accelerated deterioration of the Parc des Princes pitch. The club said the pitch would be replaced before its home match against AS Monaco on September 4.

Because of the switch, PSG will now host Rennes on the weekend of March 6.

PSG left-back Nuno Mendes was also given a three-match suspension for his red card in the Champions' Trophy loss to Lens at the weekend. The Portugal international was sent off in the 87th minute for elbowing Lens' Michal Skoras and will miss Ligue 1 matches against Lille and Monaco.

Lens defender Kyllian Antonio was banned for two matches for his dismissal in Lens' 1-0 win, after a dangerous tackle on new PSG forward Maghnes Akliouche.