Yankee Stadium’s temporary soccer pitch drew ridicule and criticism from fans and Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, who called it “absolutely the worst field ever” before Sunday’s win over New York City FC.

The field at Yankee Stadium, which mostly hosts baseball, has long been problematic for Major League Soccer matches. Grass is laid over the infield dirt of the baseball diamond, which is often still visible.

But it looked especially grotesque on Sunday evening. Significant chunks of the temporary grass — near second base on the baseball diamond, and near the sideline at midfield of the soccer pitch — looked dead.

“Look how patchy it is,” Bedoya said in a video that he later posted to Instagram.

There was also a solid strip on the field of play near one corner flag that wasn’t covered with grass. It appeared to be the first-base coach’s box.

“Look at this, rock hard,” Bedoya said in his video as he stomped on the solid surface. “This is terrible.”

The video was taken during pre-game familiarization, a time when players stroll the pitch in sneakers and casual clothes before changing into their boots and kits. In the background, one of Bedoya’s peers said: “MLS. S***!”

Bedoya then turned his camera to show a dark line — which appeared to be an outfield portion of the first-base line — intersecting the six-yard box.

About the pitch…

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— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald.bsky.social) 23:13 · Aug 16, 2026

“I cannot wait for the new stadium,” Bedoya continued, “because, yeah, Yankee Stadium, it’s cool for baseball. For soccer? Never.”

The “new stadium” that Bedoya referenced is Etihad Park, which will open in July of 2027. It is the soccer-specific stadium that NYCFC has been seeking for more than a decade, ever since it launched as an MLS expansion franchise in 2015 and even beforehand.

While the club explored potential sites and pursued various stadium plans, Yankee Stadium has been its primary home. The stadium, located in the Bronx, is owned by the City of New York but operated by Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, whose holding company also owns a 10 per cent stake in NYCFC.

Throughout its decade-plus as a soccer venue, Yankee Stadium has drawn consistent derision, both for the narrowness of its pitch and the playing surface.

“It’s not a good pitch,” Montreal Impact coach Remi Garde said after a game there in 2019. “It’s a shame that good players, like there were on the field today on both sides, cannot play good football.”

It is not always as bad as it was on Sunday, though. The reasons for the pronounced issues weren’t immediately clear. An NYCFC spokesperson declined to comment. The Yankees had played there on Thursday, but were out of town for a weekend series and will remain on the road until Friday of the coming week — a relatively standard cadence.

After Thursday’s baseball game, a reporter on site captured a video of the field-conversion process beginning.

The pitch did not significantly impact Sunday’s match between the Union and NYCFC in any major moments, though all five goals were scored at the other end, where the outfield grass generally makes for an OK soccer surface.

NYCFC led 2-0 at halftime, but the Union came back to win 3-2, with striker Bruno Damiani scoring both the equalizer and the winner.

The Athletic has approached a MLS spokespeople for comment.

Manchester City are faced with an Enzo Fernandez premium, Chelsea winger Pedro Neto has no shortage of potential suitors, and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is offered a huge salary increase.

Manchester City will have to pay Chelsea more than £120m to land Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez if they try to complete a deal in the final two weeks of the transfer window. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Chelsea want close to £100m if they are to sell Portugal winger Pedro Neto, 26, this summer with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal linked with a move. (Mail – subscription required), external

Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham are all also interested in Neto, who joined Chelsea for £54m from Wolves in 2024. (Metro), external

Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign Spain midfielder Marc Casado, 22, who Barcelona have put up for sale. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Despite Manchester United‘s reluctance to sell, Galatasaray have offered Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes £18.3m per season – double his current salary – to tempt him away from Old Trafford. (Telegraph – subscription required) , external

Liverpool are still keen to sign Paris St-Germain duo Bradley Barcola, 23, and Ibrahim Mbaye, 18, with a combined fee of £155m being mooted for the France winger and Senegal forward. (Teamtalk), external

Bayern Munich are confident of agreeing a new deal with England forward Harry Kane, 33, who is entering the final year of his contract. (Bild – in German), external

Como have made an offer to take Fiorentina and Italy forward Moise Kean, 26, on loan with an obligation to buy in a package worth £25m. (La Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Leeds have given Suriname striker Joel Piroe, 27, permission to travel to West Ham for a medical. (Sky Sports), external

AC Milan have agreed a £34m deal to sign Belgium winger Diego Moreira, 22, from Strasbourg. (Corriere dello Sport – in Italian), external

Sao Paulo and West Ham are among the clubs taking an interest in 39-year-old former England forward Jamie Vardy, who is a free agent. (Talksport), external

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Darren Waller finally signed with the Carolina Panthers on Monday, five days after his agent called the veteran tight end and told him he’d found a team for him.

Waller worked on the side during Monday’s practice, held in sweltering temperatures, and isn’t expected to do much Wednesday when the Panthers practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Still, Panthers coach Dave Canales liked what he saw when the soon-to-be 34-year-old arrived at training camp.

“He looks like he’s in phenomenal shape,” Canales said. “He was leaking (sweat) out here. This is a different kind of 117 (heat) index than Vegas is, where he lives. He mentioned that. He’s soaking wet. But it was a good opportunity to see where he’s at.”

Waller said his conditioning level is “night and day” from last summer, when he didn’t decide until June to end his one-year retirement and play again. Waller tore his quad two weeks into the Miami Dolphins’ camp and ended up missing eight games with three different injuries.

Waller said he started his offseason training this year the day after the Super Bowl. But he still had to wait until mid-August for a team to call. “Anybody that offered me a job, I was gonna play,” he said.

That somebody was the Panthers, who were looking to add to their tight end mix with a proven pass catcher whose size-speed combo brings a different look to their passing game.

“You can play him like a tight end, you can play him like a receiver. He’s huge. Just standing with him out there, he’s all of 6-6 and a half. He’s lean. He can run. All those things,” Canales said.

“It’s a unique element that he brings to whatever offense he’s been a part of. The goal is just throw him into that room, challenge that room and see which guys want to elevate and create that role for Bryce (Young).”

Waller spent the first part of Monday’s practice doing conditioning exercises with running back Chuba Hubbard, edge rusher Cam Gill and a few other injured players. He congratulated Tommy Tremble after a catch in team drills, and picked the tight ends’ brains for help in learning the playbook.

“The script sheet looks like Mandarin Chinese to me right now,” he said. “But soon it’ll be something that I understand a lot more.”

Waller, who turns 34 in September, said teams were probably scared off by his age and durability concerns after his season in Miami, where he caught only 24 passes but took six in for touchdowns.

“Sometimes it can be like, damn, I’m doing all this work since the day after the Super Bowl, when is it gonna happen? But uncertainty’s kind of the name of the game,” Waller said. “I’m new to this free-agent situation. But it is what it was. I’m grateful that it happened in the timing that it did.”

One of Waller’s best games last year came in Week 5 at Bank of America Stadium. The former Georgia Tech receiver caught five passes for 78 yards and a TD — all in the first half — in the Panthers’ 27-24 victory.

Canales indicated the Panthers plan to break Waller in slowly. He won’t participate in team drills against the Jags, but could see individual work so he can begin to develop timing with Young.

Based on his offseason training, Waller is confident he can still be a downfield threat.

“I was able this year to get back to places I feel like explosive-wise, top speed-wise, getting out of routes, just as good as I have any point in my career. So that’s very encouraging,” he said. “Just to be able to move the way that I’m moving at my age, I feel like it’s a blessing.”