(CNN) -- The controversial pitch at the new Wembley stadium is to be dug up immediately.





Wembley's pitch has come in for plenty of criticism since the stadium weas reopened in 2007.





Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger branded the surface 'a disaster' after the FA Cup semifinal defeat by Chelsea last Saturday, while Sir Alex Ferguson called it 'dead' in the aftermath of Manchester United's penalty shoot-out defeat to Everton 24 hours later.





In the wake of such criticism, stadium officials decided to launch a thorough review of the pitch and have concluded the rye grass surface should be replaced with immediate effect.





The new pitch will be a different composition to the current one, which it is hoped will be better suited to the stadium design.





Although the FA had confirmed there would be a new 'sand-soil' pitch installed, it was not anticipated the work would be done until after next month's FA Cup final.





There have been problems with the new stadium's pitch since it first opened just over two years ago. Due to the number of non-footballing events, including pop concerts, which are required at Wembley to make the rebuilding project viable, it was felt the rye-grass option was more likely to withstand the extra punishment.





However, it has proved not to be the case, with Wenger claiming the surface is worse than at any of the 20 Premier League grounds.





"When you build a new stadium, the first priority is that the pitch is good," said Wenger on Tuesday. "If that's not right the whole stadium is bad.





"Before everybody wanted to play at Wembley because the pitch was so special. Now, nobody wants to play at Wembley."





Although the FA acknowledge they will still need to change the pitch at regular intervals, the organisation is optimistic the work should at least allow Wembley to restore its previous reputation for a surface of the highest standard.





A statement read: "Wembley Stadium is a multi-purpose venue and needs to be able to offer both a quality playing surface and a quality calendar of events.





"The pitch has always been and will continue to be at the heart of the stadium and of the business."
What has received widespread criticism? What has caused the damaged? What is being dug up immediately? What has been critiqued?
Wembley's number of non-footballing events, controversial pitch at the new Wembley stadium Wembley's
question: What has received widespread criticism?, answer: Wembley's | question: What has caused the damaged?, answer: number of non-footballing events, | question: What is being dug up immediately?, answer: controversial pitch at the new Wembley stadium | question: What has been critiqued?, answer: Wembley's