Early pitch inspections must be shown red card
Council is letting young football players down, says Saints hero
05.04.2017 Renfrewshire Council has scored a major own goal after a series of youth football call offs, according to a St Mirren legend.
Saints hero Barry McLaughlin has blasted the local authority for inspecting pitches up to 48 hours before matches, leading to needless postponements.
His son Aidan’s team Glenvale Under- 15s has missed out on five games this season after their Ferguslie Sports Centre pitch was deemed unplayable.
He said: “The policy seems to be to inspect pitches on a Friday morning even for games on a Sunday. So the pitches might be waterlogged on a Friday and they call the game off.
“But that could change very quickly, overnight even.
“It doesn’t give us a chance to get the pitch playable. In the past, we have had 15 or 20 parents down with brushes and forks to get the pitch ready on a Saturday morning.
“It means the kids are missing out, which frustrating. It also means that they will have to play three or four games a week towards the end of the season to catch up on the cancelled matches.”
Irate Barry, who made 295 appearances for the Buddies, wants to know why so many games have been cancelled when pitches were potentially still playable.
He added: “They talk about keeping kids active and getting them out playing sports and off their play stations. Then they cancel these games willy nilly.
“I know we aren’t the only team to be affected by this. It’s becoming a major problem for clubs across Renfrewshire.”
“Our games have been cancelled and we have gone and watched other teams in Lanarkshire the same weekend and they have been fine.
“Unless Paisley has its own ecosystem, with its own weather, I don’t know how that can happen. We get as much rain as anywhere.”
MSP George Adam has urged Renfrewshire Council to listen to Saints legend Barry and re-think the policy.
Mr Adam, convener of SMiSA, said: “It must be really disappointing for our young football players and their families having games called off when there may be no actual need.
“Even I know how quickly the conditions on a pitch can turn around but I’m sure that someone of Barry’s experience should be listened to.
“We need to make sport as accessible as possible. We need to change our attitude to health and sport and encourage people in every way to look after themselves.
“Encouraging young people to get into sport is one way to have fun and develop an active lifestyle.
“Renfrewshire Council needs to look at itself and its responsibilities. If officials want people to continue using their services throughout their lives, they need to ensure that they are fair to everyone, including our young people who play football.”
A Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: “Nobody wants football matches to be called off unnecessarily. Pitch inspections take place on a Friday morning, taking into consideration the condition of the pitch, current weather conditions and the forecast.
“This is a long- established approach which was introduced at the request of clubs as it gives them sufficient time to notify players, opposition and match officials, avoiding the expense of unnecessary travel.
“It has generally worked well, but there will always be occasions when the weather conditions change overnight. We are always happy to look at our approach and