Spain struggled to impose their game against Italy in their opening Euro 2012 match, a 1-1 draw, because of a poor pitch in Gdansk, midfielder Sergi Busquets insisted yesterday.

Returning to a theme which his colleagues had brought up after the game, the 23-year-old Barcelona star insisted that “this was not just a simple excuse” for a somewhat wan performance from the defending champions.

“The state of the pitch really penalised us,” he insisted.

“It was really a handicap for a team whose game is based on passing the ball around,” he maintained – although there was no great shortage of passing, in contrast to a lack of cutting edge in a team which coach Vicente del Bosque had sent out without any recognised strikers in it.

Italy also did not see fit to criticise the pitch but Busquets said its dryness and the length of the grass were factors which had affected the Spanish.

“It’s true both teams play on the same pitch, with the same ball but the state of the pitch can penalise one more than another,” he asserted.

Italy had made use of their right to refuse to have the pitch watered beforehand but Busquets insisted that organisers UEFA should intervene in such matters.

“It’s up to UEFA to take a stand on this. I think they should intervene for the sake of a spectacle so there are more goals and less injuries,” he said.

Spain have appealed to UEFA in the meantime to ensure the state of the pitch is improved for their other pool games in Gdansk against the Irish and the Croatians.