Serie A round-up: Plastic pitch go-ahead
(eurosport.com)
Updated: 2005-01-28 15:03

Italy's leading clubs could play Serie A matches on synthetic pitches as early as 2006, according to the president of the Italian Football Federation.

Italy's leading clubs could play Serie A matches on synthetic pitches as early as 2006, according to the president of the Italian Football Federation. [eurosport.com]

UEFA in November approved plans for artificial pitches to be used at national and club level from next season, but they are still banned in Serie A.

"We need to check that the latest generation of artificial pitches do not have a damaging effect on the environment or player performance," Franco Carraro was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday.

"Once we've done that I believe we can start playing Serie A games as soon as next year."

The debate surrounding synthetic pitches is particularly lively in Italy, where many of the top clubs do not own their stadiums and are forced to share facilities with other teams.

The extra wear and tear leads to the playing surface becoming cut-up and in need of regular "refills".

The best-known example is the pitch at Milan's San Siro stadium, home of AC Milan and Inter Milan, who frequently blame the uneven playing surface for injuries suffered by their players.

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