Celtic hero Johan Mjallby has given his opinion on the state of plastic pitches in football.
The Scottish Premiership has three astroturf surfaces in the division. Hamilton Accies, Kilmarnock, and Livingston all play on plastic, and certain players, therefore, can’t play against those teams at their home venues.
It can also be seen across some of Europe’s big leagues too. The likes of Russia and Holland also have them in their top division. The same can also be said for the MLS.
And Mjallby is getting sick of the sight of them. He was speaking to Simon Ferry’s Open Goal programme yesterday when talking about his upbringing in football. Touching on synthetic surfaces, however, Mjallby didn’t leave any doubt as to his opinion on the matter.
“Swedish football is a bit different nowadays. When I was growing up it was all down to organisation, a strict 4-4-2. We obviously got a good understanding of the game, especially defensively.
“Nowadays it’s more down to technical skills. A lot of teams even in the top league plays on astroturf which is shocking. I’m not a fan of astroturf.
“It’s great for kids, yes, in getting them facilities to play and train on. But when it comes to the top clubs and the top leagues all over the world, I don’t think you should be allowed to play on astroturf.”
No sign of any change in Scotland
Mjallby is on the money. Astroturf isn’t what football is meant to be played on, and the only real pro to it is that it saves clubs money.
But it sums up Scottish football that we aren’t even looking to change from it. The Dutch, as you would expect, took a lead on this last October when they announced that clubs such as Ajax, Feyenoord, and PSV Eindhoven would help scrap artificial pitches in the Eridivisie through their own wealth.
Scottish football rejected to follow on in that lead. The SPFL reportedly didn’t have any appetite to force clubs in Scotland to follow suit. But it would make sense in improving both the quality of surface in our country as well as players’ safety.
As Mjallby said, they’re great for kids growing up. They’re cheaper to maintain, and you can create more of them for lesser finance. It gives kids a chance to get out and kick a ball around. Just getting them somewhere to play is so important in grassroots development.
But when it creeps into professional football then it’s a no-go. Don’t expect any change here for the foreseeable future. After all, that would be seen as revolutionary, and that’s not something the SFA dinosaurs like to be associated with.
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