Tavernier: Plastic pitches a ‘hazard’
RANGERS captain James Tavernier last night pointed a finger of blame at Rugby Park’s plastic pitch after Jamie Murphy suffered a potentially serious knee injury. The Ibrox winger was stretchered off in the 17th minute of the 3-1 Betfred Cup win over Kilmarnock — in which Alfredo Morelos grabbed a hat-trick — after his left leg appeared to buckle beneath him as he chased a through-ball towards the goalline. Manager Steven Gerrard made clear his view that artificial surfaces should not be used in top-level football but, with a full Murphy diagnosis expected within 48 hours, he felt it was too early to say for sure whether the pitch had been a contributing factor. Tavernier, though, had no doubts. Referring back to the knee injury suffered by Martyn Waghorn at the same ground in 2016 — which kept the striker out for almost three months — he lamented a lack of action against plastic
surfaces after players expressed their negative views in a PFA Scotland survey earlier this year.
‘I saw him after the game and he was in a full leg brace,’ said Tavernier of Murphy. ‘That is twice now I have been to this stadium when a player has suffered a bad injury.
‘First it was Waggy and now it is Murphy. These Astroturf pitches are always a hazard and are always going to cause injuries to any professional.
‘I guarantee you that Murphy wouldn’t have the injury that he got today if it had been a grass pitch. He planted his foot, got a wee nudge and then just felt something go. If that’s on grass, that’s not going to happen. That’s obviously disappointing.’ Rugby Park finished second-bottom of the PFA Scotland survey — ahead only of Hamilton’s artificial surface which has been upgraded this summer. A quarter of Premiership games will be played on plastic this term after newly-promoted Livingston switched from grass.
‘The PFA asked us to do the survey and rate every pitch and, obviously, we rated all the Astroturf pitches badly,’ added Tavernier.
‘You feel more wear and tear on your legs after playing on them. Something has to be done. Livingston have just come up and have been allowed to put an Astroturf pitch down.
‘It is disappointing. You don’t want to see it in our league. But, obviously, it is down to the league, not the PFA. But Rangers are good enough to come to these stadiums and play the way we want to.
‘As a professional, you know you’ve got to play on all kinds of surfaces. You know it is something in the game and you just get on with it. But if you have a choice, you choose grass. If you are a Premiership team, you should be playing on grass.’
Gerrard admitted Murphy’s injury had taken the shine off a fine team performance capped by Morelos’ hat-trick. The victory set up a home meeting with Ayr United in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals.
‘He’s sad, he’s upset, I think he’s fearing the worst,’ said Gerrard of Murphy. ‘We’re devastated. That’s the only downer for us today. We’re going away on the back of a fantastic victory at a difficult place but it has come at a cost as Jamie looks like he’ll be missing for quite a while. ‘We’ll get him checked and do the tests and examinations. We hope it’s not as bad as we’re fearing.’
Asked if it was a pitch issue, Gerrard added: ‘It’s difficult for me to comment on that. We all know that plastic pitches are not as safe as grass. That’s fact, that’s simple.
‘But I’m not here to disrespect Kilmarnock and their playing facilities. I know it’s a big help to them having a plastic pitch. It helps support the running of their football club.
‘So I’m not going to show them any kind of disrespect but my opinion is elite football shouldn’t have any plastic pitches.
‘I think if you ask Jamie right now, he’ll say it was a pitch incident. But let’s just wait and see. I don’t want to dive in too quickly. We’ll wait and see what the examinations say but we’re all fearing the worst.’
Gerrard will also wait for that outcome before deciding whether it affects his transfer plans for the remainder of the window.
Rangers are working to finalise a deal for Hearts striker Kyle Lafferty, with Gerrard yesterday admitting admiration for the Northern Ireland international.
‘He is not my player,’ he insisted. ‘He is a great player. I like him a lot. But I won’t talk about anyone else’s players.’
Malian midfielder Lassana Coulibaly missed out against Kilmarnock with a thigh injury but Gerrard revealed he has a chance of being fit for Thursday’s scheduled Europa League meeting with FC Ufa.