ARTIFICIAL PITCHES have been one of the more contentious topics in the League of Ireland in recent years.
A few months back, a representative of an Irish player based in England who had spent time on loan in the League of Ireland told The 42: “The one thing that he won’t miss, and we don’t miss, is astro – because his knees, his limbs, he was in bits.
“It was just horrendous, and he hated playing them because the actual sstro was so bad.
“Even when you go for a header and you’re coming down on your ankle, it’s shocking.”
This individual is far from the only one who holds negative views on the subject.
Meanwhile, Sligo Rovers boss John Russell has repeatedly called for artificial pitches to be scrapped in the Premier Division.
Over two seasons, Russell saw four of his players suffer serious injuries on Derry City’s 4G pitch.
“I was never a big fan of playing on astro pitches; the only time I find them okay is when it’s wet,” he explains.
“So as a player, you’re always praying that it’s raining on the day of the game if you’re on the astro.
“I can see the benefit, with the conditions. And you know, weather conditions from a training point of view during the winter months, but for playing matches on – it’s a different type of game.
“The ball bounces differently, and some astros aren’t maintained well. And you look at pitches over the years, especially up in Dundalk, the amount of black pellets and stuff, and even passing the ball, it’s just a different game.
“[Bad weather] nearly takes away from that bounce on the Astro pitch. So when it’s wet and soaked, the artificial grass, the ball skids along it more.”
He continues: “And you’re always at risk of picking up injuries on it. We’ve seen that over the years, when I played and I’m now managing and coaching, it definitely increases the risk of injuries compared to playing on grass pitches.
“Even from a player’s point of view, when you’re going to control a ball or manipulate it, get away from someone, it’s not getting stuck [on a wet surface]. Sometimes you can see the ball getting stuck or it checks, and then all of a sudden, your body movement to manipulate or to adjust to the ball getting stuck causes the injuries, where, if it’s wet, the ball moves away and it’s freer, and the game is faster, and it’s a better spectacle as well.”
This last point is one not everyone agrees with. Speaking to The 42, Waterford boss John Coleman, while no fan of artificial pitches overall, rejects the suggestion that they increase the risk of injury.
“I think it’s a fallacy,” he says. “I think it’s been proven that you get fewer injuries. There have been studies on that, players who have had historic injuries tend to try to avoid them, but I think it’s more in the head.
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“I know a lot of players don’t like training on them. That’s a big thing. And throughout my managerial career, nearly every player I have had who has suffered [serious] injuries has complained about training on them.”
Waterford head coach John Coleman. James Lawlor / INPHO
James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO
Some findings support Coleman’s claims. A 2023 study from medical journal The Lancet concluded: “The overall incidence of football injuries is lower on artificial turf than on grass. Based on these findings, the risk of injury can’t be used as an argument against artificial turf when considering the optimal playing surface for football.”
Alternatively, a study carried out by the Central Statistics Office specifically in relation to rugby rather than soccer found that: “While both artificial and grass pitches have similar amounts of injuries, the severity of these injuries is a lot greater when playing on an artificial surface.”
Several other studies give conflicting evidence on whether there is an increased risk of injury playing on artificial surfaces.
What Russell and Coleman agree on is that playing on an artificial pitch gives the home team an advantage.
“I go back to my playing days at Sligo, St Pat’s,” says Russell. “We played Dundalk in that period where they were good, and it’s a different type of game. The ball would check up, and it was a different bounce. And if you’re training and playing on that every day, you have a huge advantage when teams come up, and I felt that they always did have an advantage on that pitch.”
Coleman adds, “I played on them when they were first coming out. I played on Preston’s one. Hyde United had them in the non-league, where I played the bulk of my career, and they were the first ones to have them. And it was a massive advantage to them. They trained on them obviously, but they geared the game up towards it, and it proved to be a big advantage.”
The former Southport and Macclesfield Town footballer says he “didn’t mind” playing on artificial pitches as a striker, suggesting they were inconvenient for centre-halves because the bounce is “a little bit unpredictable” and the ball “comes off your foot differently,” while buying “the correct footwear” made them easier to play on.
He adds, “I don’t like the way you strike the ball on it. I just don’t like them, full stop. But when I was at Accrington and we won League Two, we had the lowest budget. We finished above the likes of Luton and Coventry. But we trained on Astroturf every single day, and I hated it, yeah, but we trained every day on it because we didn’t have a training ground, and then we played on grass on a Saturday. So at least we knew we could train, because it was not going to be snowed off or rained off. But I complained about it every single day.
“We had to train on them, there was not much choice, it was do that or not train. So we quickly got used to it, and that year, we didn’t have many injuries.”
The financial benefits are a big reason why some clubs embrace these pitches.
“If you take clubs that can use them 24/7, and certainly get the community involved, I can see the [justification] for that,” says Coleman.
Russell expresses similar sentiments: “I get it from a club point of view, because the more training, the more matches that can be played, and maintenance.
“There are a lot of academy teams now, so there are slots there for teams to come in and just train, and grass pitches can get cut up, the surface needs to be [protected]. So then maybe teams can’t get access to the pitch — there’s definitely a drain on the facilities. So you can see the benefit of having astros as part of a training complex.
“But I think as you go up the levels, you’re talking about first team, and the league is growing all that, I don’t think there’s any place for astro pitches at the top level.”
However, if they are not banned outright, the Sligo boss would at least appreciate a compromise.
“I remember playing over in Lithuania with St Pat’s, and some sprinklers came up out of the ground on the astro, and something like that needs to be looked at if teams are to play with astros, that there has to be requirements, from the elite [level], that there has to be a sprinkler system that comes up out of the ground and soaks the pitches.
“Because you can look at Derry at the moment, I actually think it hampers their style of play, and their players, going around with a gun that shoots out air, it’s not even water, and it’s a totally different football match.
“It’s a challenge because facilities aren’t up to the level they need to be at the moment, and that’s where the government funding has to come in.”
Russell says his views are widely shared among footballers.
“They don’t like training [on astro pitches] because, again, the risk of injuries, and when they’re playing on grass, going from astro to grass, it’s a different surface, so you’re always at risk of picking up injuries.”
The Galway native similarly argues that the use of these pitches is damaging to the perception of the Premier Division and can prove off-putting when it comes to trying to persuade talented footballers from abroad to move to Ireland.
“You look at the brand of the league, and you try to grow it, and you’re trying to recruit good players in if you’re speaking to clubs or sporting directors, and get players in on loan, and even if you’re showing video clips of your team or the league, and they’re seeing the Brandywell or Oriel, it’s not a good spectacle. The game doesn’t look as good.”
Coleman disagrees: “In the lower stages of the Uefa competitions, the qualifying rounds, there’s a good chance you’re going to play on an Astro pitch, particularly in the colder places. So I don’t think it devalues the Irish league in that respect. If you get two or three, it might be different, but there’s only one [in the Premier Division].”
A view of Oriel Park. Evan Treacy / INPHO
Evan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
In the Netherlands, the Eredivisie clubs have already decided to ban artificial pitches.
Will the Irish top flight eventually follow suit?
“I’m not at a club that has an astro, but from the outside, I think the perception of what I’m hearing — Derry, I don’t think they’re massively in favour of playing on that astro pitch,” Russell says. “That will tell you a lot. I think if they had a choice, they would want to rip that up and have a grass pitch. So if you asked Ciarán Kilduff at Dundalk and their players, I’d imagine they’d probably say something similar.
“So I think hopefully we’re getting to a stage where they will have grass pitches and we won’t be having to play on astros.”
Coleman is more sceptical: “I’d be the first one with my hand up if we had a vote.
“But I don’t think it’ll happen. And I can understand it from a business point of view, so I’m not being churlish about it, and it’s only my opinion on it.
“People have made decisions to allow it. So you’ve got to respect their decisions.”
Derry City and Dundalk were approached for comment on this piece
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Why artificial pitches in Irish football are controversial
ARTIFICIAL PITCHES have been one of the more contentious topics in the League of Ireland in recent years.
A few months back, a representative of an Irish player based in England who had spent time on loan in the League of Ireland told The 42: “The one thing that he won’t miss, and we don’t miss, is astro – because his knees, his limbs, he was in bits.
“It was just horrendous, and he hated playing them because the actual sstro was so bad.
“Even when you go for a header and you’re coming down on your ankle, it’s shocking.”
This individual is far from the only one who holds negative views on the subject.
Even Ruaidhri Higgins, when he was manager of Derry City, suggested artificial pitches were “not suitable for professional sport”.
Meanwhile, Sligo Rovers boss John Russell has repeatedly called for artificial pitches to be scrapped in the Premier Division.
Over two seasons, Russell saw four of his players suffer serious injuries on Derry City’s 4G pitch.
“I was never a big fan of playing on astro pitches; the only time I find them okay is when it’s wet,” he explains.
“So as a player, you’re always praying that it’s raining on the day of the game if you’re on the astro.
“I can see the benefit, with the conditions. And you know, weather conditions from a training point of view during the winter months, but for playing matches on – it’s a different type of game.
“The ball bounces differently, and some astros aren’t maintained well. And you look at pitches over the years, especially up in Dundalk, the amount of black pellets and stuff, and even passing the ball, it’s just a different game.
“[Bad weather] nearly takes away from that bounce on the Astro pitch. So when it’s wet and soaked, the artificial grass, the ball skids along it more.”
He continues: “And you’re always at risk of picking up injuries on it. We’ve seen that over the years, when I played and I’m now managing and coaching, it definitely increases the risk of injuries compared to playing on grass pitches.
“Even from a player’s point of view, when you’re going to control a ball or manipulate it, get away from someone, it’s not getting stuck [on a wet surface]. Sometimes you can see the ball getting stuck or it checks, and then all of a sudden, your body movement to manipulate or to adjust to the ball getting stuck causes the injuries, where, if it’s wet, the ball moves away and it’s freer, and the game is faster, and it’s a better spectacle as well.”
This last point is one not everyone agrees with. Speaking to The 42, Waterford boss John Coleman, while no fan of artificial pitches overall, rejects the suggestion that they increase the risk of injury.
“I think it’s a fallacy,” he says. “I think it’s been proven that you get fewer injuries. There have been studies on that, players who have had historic injuries tend to try to avoid them, but I think it’s more in the head.
“I know a lot of players don’t like training on them. That’s a big thing. And throughout my managerial career, nearly every player I have had who has suffered [serious] injuries has complained about training on them.”
Some findings support Coleman’s claims. A 2023 study from medical journal The Lancet concluded: “The overall incidence of football injuries is lower on artificial turf than on grass. Based on these findings, the risk of injury can’t be used as an argument against artificial turf when considering the optimal playing surface for football.”
Alternatively, a study carried out by the Central Statistics Office specifically in relation to rugby rather than soccer found that: “While both artificial and grass pitches have similar amounts of injuries, the severity of these injuries is a lot greater when playing on an artificial surface.”
Several other studies give conflicting evidence on whether there is an increased risk of injury playing on artificial surfaces.
What Russell and Coleman agree on is that playing on an artificial pitch gives the home team an advantage.
“I go back to my playing days at Sligo, St Pat’s,” says Russell. “We played Dundalk in that period where they were good, and it’s a different type of game. The ball would check up, and it was a different bounce. And if you’re training and playing on that every day, you have a huge advantage when teams come up, and I felt that they always did have an advantage on that pitch.”
Coleman adds, “I played on them when they were first coming out. I played on Preston’s one. Hyde United had them in the non-league, where I played the bulk of my career, and they were the first ones to have them. And it was a massive advantage to them. They trained on them obviously, but they geared the game up towards it, and it proved to be a big advantage.”
The former Southport and Macclesfield Town footballer says he “didn’t mind” playing on artificial pitches as a striker, suggesting they were inconvenient for centre-halves because the bounce is “a little bit unpredictable” and the ball “comes off your foot differently,” while buying “the correct footwear” made them easier to play on.
He adds, “I don’t like the way you strike the ball on it. I just don’t like them, full stop. But when I was at Accrington and we won League Two, we had the lowest budget. We finished above the likes of Luton and Coventry. But we trained on Astroturf every single day, and I hated it, yeah, but we trained every day on it because we didn’t have a training ground, and then we played on grass on a Saturday. So at least we knew we could train, because it was not going to be snowed off or rained off. But I complained about it every single day.
“We had to train on them, there was not much choice, it was do that or not train. So we quickly got used to it, and that year, we didn’t have many injuries.”
The financial benefits are a big reason why some clubs embrace these pitches.
“If you take clubs that can use them 24/7, and certainly get the community involved, I can see the [justification] for that,” says Coleman.
Russell expresses similar sentiments: “I get it from a club point of view, because the more training, the more matches that can be played, and maintenance.
“There are a lot of academy teams now, so there are slots there for teams to come in and just train, and grass pitches can get cut up, the surface needs to be [protected]. So then maybe teams can’t get access to the pitch — there’s definitely a drain on the facilities. So you can see the benefit of having astros as part of a training complex.
“But I think as you go up the levels, you’re talking about first team, and the league is growing all that, I don’t think there’s any place for astro pitches at the top level.”
However, if they are not banned outright, the Sligo boss would at least appreciate a compromise.
“I remember playing over in Lithuania with St Pat’s, and some sprinklers came up out of the ground on the astro, and something like that needs to be looked at if teams are to play with astros, that there has to be requirements, from the elite [level], that there has to be a sprinkler system that comes up out of the ground and soaks the pitches.
“Because you can look at Derry at the moment, I actually think it hampers their style of play, and their players, going around with a gun that shoots out air, it’s not even water, and it’s a totally different football match.
“It’s a challenge because facilities aren’t up to the level they need to be at the moment, and that’s where the government funding has to come in.”
Russell says his views are widely shared among footballers.
“They don’t like training [on astro pitches] because, again, the risk of injuries, and when they’re playing on grass, going from astro to grass, it’s a different surface, so you’re always at risk of picking up injuries.”
The Galway native similarly argues that the use of these pitches is damaging to the perception of the Premier Division and can prove off-putting when it comes to trying to persuade talented footballers from abroad to move to Ireland.
“You look at the brand of the league, and you try to grow it, and you’re trying to recruit good players in if you’re speaking to clubs or sporting directors, and get players in on loan, and even if you’re showing video clips of your team or the league, and they’re seeing the Brandywell or Oriel, it’s not a good spectacle. The game doesn’t look as good.”
Coleman disagrees: “In the lower stages of the Uefa competitions, the qualifying rounds, there’s a good chance you’re going to play on an Astro pitch, particularly in the colder places. So I don’t think it devalues the Irish league in that respect. If you get two or three, it might be different, but there’s only one [in the Premier Division].”
In the Netherlands, the Eredivisie clubs have already decided to ban artificial pitches.
Will the Irish top flight eventually follow suit?
“I’m not at a club that has an astro, but from the outside, I think the perception of what I’m hearing — Derry, I don’t think they’re massively in favour of playing on that astro pitch,” Russell says. “That will tell you a lot. I think if they had a choice, they would want to rip that up and have a grass pitch. So if you asked Ciarán Kilduff at Dundalk and their players, I’d imagine they’d probably say something similar.
“So I think hopefully we’re getting to a stage where they will have grass pitches and we won’t be having to play on astros.”
Coleman is more sceptical: “I’d be the first one with my hand up if we had a vote.
“But I don’t think it’ll happen. And I can understand it from a business point of view, so I’m not being churlish about it, and it’s only my opinion on it.
“People have made decisions to allow it. So you’ve got to respect their decisions.”
Derry City and Dundalk were approached for comment on this piece
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artificial pitches Debate John Coleman John Russell Soccer Derry City Dundalk Sligo Rovers Waterford United