Plastic ‘is not so fantastic’

PFA Scotland urges action after survey reveals Premiership players want ban on artificial pitches

Every player from nine Ladbrokes Premiership clubs has called for artificial pitches to be scrapped in Scotland’s top flight.

PFA Scotland has submitted a petition to the Scottish Professional Football League calling for action.

The players’ union did not ask players from the three Premiership clubs with plastic surfaces – Livingston, Hamilton and Kilmarnock – to sign the petition.

Union representatives from all teams from the three lower divisions have signed a separate petition calling for a blanket policy to ensure all surfaces – artificial or grass – are maintained to the highest standards possible.

Artificial pitches were previously banned in Scotland’s top flight but the rules were relaxed after the merger of the leagues in 2013.

Newly-promoted Livingston replaced a grass pitch last summer, Hamilton renewed their artificial surface at the end of last season, and Kilmarnock plan to put in a replacement artificial pitch at the end of the current campaign.

Hamilton and Killie were rated among the worst three pitches in Scotland last season.

PFA Scotland chairman and St Johnstone midfielder Liam Craig said: “Players believe that removing artificial surfaces from the top league and improving them throughout the SPFL Championship, League One and League Two will have a positive impact on our game in Scotland.

“The inconsistency of artificial surfaces at the top level of Scottish football is a major factor on how the game is played by players. The ball rolls and bounces differently, which affects a player’s decision-making.

“Movements such as running, turning and tackling on the pitch also have a negative impact on the body which inevitably effects a player’s performance.

“Players often say it takes longer to recover after playing on an artificial pitch. This can not only affect future performances, but also team selection.

“If a player takes longer to recover, a manager may not select them for games on these surfaces or for a game after playing on them.

“A decision based on this sees a player suffer financially – the player could not only miss out on bonuses and appearance money but could find themselves out of the team for a longer period purely down to a game being played on an artificial surface.”

PFA Scotland chief executive Fraser Wishart said: “Football is, of course, an entertainment industry but our members do not enjoy playing on artificial surfaces in particular.

“Our members in all divisions feel artificial surfaces are often over-used and the priority seems to be community use, not first-team matches, therefore these surfaces drop in standard very quickly.

“Players in the Championship, League One and League Two ask for a quicker turnaround when replacing the artificial surfaces they play on.”

Hamilton received the lowest mark of the PFA’s Pitch Rater survey last season – 1.18 out of five – while Kilmarnock could only muster a score of 1.7.

Albion Rovers’ grass pitch was the second-worst, according to more than 3,500 surveys on the app.

Stirling’s grass pitch at Forthbank was rated top pitch for the second year running with Peterhead’s Balmoor and Hampden above the best pitch in the Premiership, Motherwell’s Fir Park.

One artificial pitch, Alloa’s, made the top 10.

Picture: SNS. Kilmarnock have plans to replace the artificial surface at Rugby Park at the end of the season.