The Cleveland Browns have had a part of their NFL field trashed by an alleged joyrider with a police investigation underway.
It comes after marks on the grass were found on Tuesday morning, with the organisations groundsmen now in a race against the clock to prepare the field for this Sunday's game, when the Browns welcome Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium, which is one of 16 stadiums in the NFL which uses grass rather than artificial turf, was found to have been vandalised on either Monday evening or in the early hours of Tuesday, with ring marks visibly left on the grass at centre-field just outside the numbers.
Pictures shown on News Channel 5 shows the marks on the grass, with groundsmen already working to reverse the damages left by the vandals. Luckily though, the Browns do not expect any lasting damages, and claimed that Sunday's game should not be affected as their team continues to work on the field.
Local police in Cleveland have given a statement on the incident, confirming that they believe that a joyrider had broken into the stadium before getting on a golf cart, and they have opened an investigation.
In a statement, the Browns said: "We are aware of the incident that occurred early Tuesday morning at FirstEnergy Stadium and have provided the Cleveland Division of Police with all relevant information.
"Based on our internal evaluation, there was some superficial damage to the playing field that our grounds maintenance team is currently working to repair.
"We take great pride in the strong reviews and reputation of our stadium’s playing surface, have been in touch with the NFL on the matter and are confident after repair our field will be ready for Sunday’s game vs. the Tampa Buccaneers."
The Browns were forced to play their last game in a stadium that they hadn't been prepared for, having to travel to Detroit to face the Buffalo Bills after the upstate New York stadium had been badly affected by a snowstorm.
This upcoming Sunday will be the final game that the Browns will play without quarterback Deshaun Watson, who will return to the NFL for the first time since 2020.
Watson was traded from the Houston Texans and suspended for 11 games this season after a total of 26 cases are said to have been filed against the NFL star by women surrounding sexual acts. The 27-year-old is believed to have made confidential settlement agreements with 23 of the 24 women. The Browns are 3-6 so far this season and will need an almighty turnaround if they are to make the playoffs.
