Jozo calls for ban on plastic as he prepares to sit it out

JOZO SIMUNOVIC has expressed his frustration with the SPFL’s continued endorsement of plastic pitches as he prepares for the likelihood of missing another important Premiership fixture for Celtic at Kilmarnock today.

The Parkhead defender added his signature to the PFA Scotland petition delivered to the SPFL on Thursday calling for an outright ban on artificial surfaces in the top flight.

Simunovic, who made his 100th Celtic appearance against Valencia on Thursday, has not played a minute of football at Rugby Park since joining the club three-and-ahalf years ago due to concerns over a long-standing knee issue.

The 24-year-old insists he is fit and available for selection but admits he may have to sit out this afternoon.

Although he has started Celtic’s last five fixtures, he is unlikely to be risked by boss Brendan Rodgers.

‘I’m going to go through that,’ he admitted. ‘In the past, I had a good rhythm of games and then when the plastic pitch came, the gaffer wanted to rest me.

‘I am fit and I want to play. So it depends on the manager and what he decides.

‘But in terms of plastic pitches, it’s very simple — they need to take them out. It’s not possible in professional football.’

Since signing for Celtic in 2015, Simunovic has featured twice on artificial surfaces — starting in a league match at Hamilton in September 2017 and appearing as a substitute

in a Scottish Cup tie against Albion Rovers, a match played at Airdrie’s Excelsior Stadium.

The centre-back spent his formative years with Dinamo Zagreb before moving to Celtic in a £3million deal in September 2015.

In common with most children, he grew up playing on artificial surfaces but insists his country’s professional game adopts a stricter policy on the type of surfaces deployed by Kilmarnock, Hamilton and Livingston — a quarter of Scotland’s top-flight clubs.

‘There are no plastic pitches in Croatia, even though the winter there is colder,’ said Simunovic. ‘They care about it. Especially over the last few years when they have invested in them, the undersoil heating and everything. It’s no excuse any more that you can only play (on plastic) if there is big rain.

‘I played on plastic pitches as a youngster. But in professional football? No, there’s a big difference.

‘It affects the game for sure. But we have adapted to that, we have played on them for a few years now, so we know what we can expect.

‘We can’t change, we need to play on plastic. It’s probably going to take a few years but I hope in the future they take them away.

‘But it’s no excuse. We go there and we know exactly what we want. We are expecting a tough game against them, it always is away from home.’