SFA vote backs artificial pitches


The Scottish Football Association has voted to approve the use of Fifa-approved artificial surfaces.

And it could boost Dunfermline Athletic's hopes of a successful appeal against a ban on such pitches imposed by the Scottish Premier League.

The SFA annual meeting voted 73-7 in favour and Dunfermline will hope their pitch meets the right standard.

Chairman John Yorkston said: "It is in the process of being -*test*-('")ed and we hope to know in the next couple of weeks."

Dunfermline, who face the prospect of digging up their present pitch, will hope to have evidence in support of their case before the appeal against the SPL board decision is heard by the SFA.

SFA president John McBeth said: "There was a proposal at the agm about Astroturf and it was almost unanimous that we will follow the Fifa line.

"I think it's only wise because teams like Rangers and Celtic who play in Europe are going to come up against it at some stage.

"There are two standards - there is one for nations, like Africa, who don't have any grass at all and that's a slightly lower standard.

"Then there is the Fifa II standard, which is the one Uefa have accepted and that's the better standard."

It means that such pitches will be permitted in competitions like the Scottish Cup.

McBeth and chief executive David Taylor refused to be drawn on whether they thought Dunfermline's pitch would comply with Fifa guidelines.

The SFA also changed the composition of its board in a bid for greater integration of decision-making in Scottish football.

It approved a proposal to allow SPL executive chairman Lex Gold and John Smith, the president of the Scottish Football League, to join the parent body's board.

Dunfirmeline's pitch is a shambles! It is bloody dangerous, and if it does meet UEFA guidelines it just shows that their standards are too low.

I don't really see the point in having these in the UK - it's not as if we have a climate which is not condusive to grass. There are plenty of non-league clubs who maintain grasssurfaces, so what is Dunfirmeline's excuse here? Surely it is time for all concerned to admit that this was an experiment which has failed, and for them to relay grass.



Vicky

Vicky have you heard of scottish weather?! Many pitches up here, especially in the lower leagues, are complete bogs...!! There were too many lower-league games called off over the winter, due to bad pitches, to count. That's what led to the leaders of the Highland League having played I think it was six more games than some of the rest of the league!!

Really, it should move, for the good of all levels, to a summer league.

Already at many grounds the linesmen's "trenches" are made of artificial material, and at the pitches that aren't, the linesman can be practically up to his ankles in mud by the time the game is finished during winter games!

I haven't actually been to dunfirmline's ground yet, so can't comment on the state of their pitch... however I do know that astro-turf technology has improved vastly from the hard toothbrush bristles of old. It's not the same as playing on grass, but it's a lot more like playing on grass to playing on a hard pitch like it used to be, it's alot looser and more grass-like. You can't make a mistake on it, because the ground is very unforgiving, but that's not nessacerily a bad thing.

Lots are sceptical, but having seen the reasons these matches are called off not to mention having seen the conditions that matches allowed to be played in, I'm not against it -- although as I said, a summer season would surely be a much better idea.

Robbie, of course I appreciate the problems with the weather, and the fact that games do need to get called off in extreme weather conditions (frozen/waterlogged pitches) however, I think that calling games off is a price that needs to be paid when the alternative is putting into jeopardy players safety.

The pitch at Dunfirmeline is, in my opinion (and Martin O'Neill's to name another) dangerous. I have said that I do not have a problem with these pitches per se, but technology needs to be advanced to give the ground more give and make the surface less harsh.

There is an interesting article about artificial pitches in the la-*test*-('") edition of New Scientist for all the geeks out there!



Vicky

Dunfermline's pitch is a shambles and it is nothing like grass. The ball travels differently, it doesn't allow the ball to bounce as much and too many players get injured on it. We lost Noel Whelan for 3 months with a recurring injury as a direct result of playing on that pitch.

Iam all for synthetic surfaces, but so long as they offer a direct alternative to grass. Dunfermline's "pitch" doesn't offer that.

It's not 'extreme conditions' -- it's every day weather in many places!! I've just had yet another match called off because the pitch is waterlogged and unplayable. Would I rather the game went ahead on an artificial pitch? Three guesses; yes yes or yes!!

As I stated before, I havent seen Dunfirmline's pitch, so wasn't referring to it. I was referring to excellent grass-imitation astro-turf pitches which I myself have played on. If I can play on these kind of adequate pitches at local team level, what can the bg teams afford?! It wouldn't be grass, but it would be a good alternative, which wouldn't japordise players safety.

As I see it, either clubs take up these surfaces, or move to a summer season and remain on grass.

Interesting but useful trivia: the year QPR installed a plastic pitch they won promotion.

Ok, I think that we are in agreement that there is no problem with artifical pitches in perinciple.

The problem is, however, that UEFA standards for these pitches are obviously too low if Dunfirmline's is anything to go by.

And as I have said, I would rather a match is abandoned than player risk injury by playing on an unsafe artificial surface.

Incidentally, when Arsenal forst made plans to move to Ashburton Grove, UEFA were lobbying heavily for us to install an artificial surface. We refused.


Vicky

yes, I think anyone would -- encluding the clubs that play on the surfaces. I don't see that a club would install a surface which would injure their players if at all possible.

New Artifical surfaces do cost a bit to install, and no doubt the best quality ones are pretty pricey, which might put a club off going for a top-of-the-range one... but a club doesnt want it's players to get injured either, surely most would see that and install the best surface possible.

One of the worst things about artificial pitches... those players who just insist on 'clearing their mouths' onto the pitch all the time... it doesn't just dissolve away like on grass you know...

Thanks for that Robbie, it's really lovely to know!



Vicky