Artificial football pitches in Scotland are going to be challenged by Premiership footballers, according to the Daily Record.
Apparently, senior professionals at a certain top club in Scotland have urged PFA Scotland to set up a petition. Players want the SFA to take action when they see the sheer number of opposition resistance.
Synthetic surfaces are currently in place at Hamilton Accies, Livingston, and Kilmarnock in Scotland’s top flight. Rangers’ Jamie Murphy suffered a season-ending injury on it when Rangers beat Killie 3-1 back in September.
The idea of a petition also comes after Holland’s top clubs invested in getting rid of plastic pitches. The likes of Ajax and PSV are ready to part ways with some cash in order to help smaller clubs install grass surfaces instead. It’s a revolutionary idea from the Dutch who continue to lead the way in progressive thinking in football.
Kilmarnock are the only club with astroturf currently considering a switch to grass. But the likes of Hamilton and Livingston have previously said they can’t afford to install grass surfaces.
SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster stated just last week that no plans are in place to get rid of the turf.
“FIFA allow artificial pitches in their competitions and our rules follow that principle. All artificial pitches are subject to spot checks to continue to perform at FIFA Quality Pro standard throughout the season.
“It is open to clubs to change the SPFL rules in this area if they wish but we have not received any such proposals from clubs to date.”
A time for change
Clubs apparently haven’t requested to change the ruling on plastic pitches. By the looks of things, that’s about to change with individual players instead.
Scottish footballers were last season asked to rate plastic pitches on the “Pitch Rater” app last season. Despite the fact the pitches scored 1.18 and 1.7 out of five, nothing has been done in reaction to the low score.
For the greater good of the game, however, something has to be done. Certain players can’t even play on the turf, and that’s unacceptable for a professional competition. Any element of football that can cause season-ending or career-ending injuries has to be rectified.
It’s also intriguing that this campaign for a petition comes so soon after the Eridivisie’s plans for plastic pitches. It appears that Scotland’s top footballers are getting fed up of playing on high-school turf.
We may never know who the club was whose players rallied to scrap the pitches. Be it Rangers, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, or Aberdeen – fair play to them. It’s time Scottish football took a stand and got rid of these dangerous surfaces.
