Russian Premier League pitches are a disgrace and, in at least one case, more suitable for chickens and goats than professional soccer, the world players’ union FIFPro said in a report on Friday.
Russia has been awarded the 2018 World Cup and football in the country is booming, yet FIFPro said it had heard from players that pitches had been overlooked.
“The quality of the pitches in Russia is disgraceful,” former Torpedo Moscow player Vladimir Leonchenko, a member of the union’s technical committee, was quoted as saying by FIFPro.
“There is enough money. We are talking here about clubs with budgets of 70 million euros [US$92.7 million] to 80 million euros. But there is simply no willingness and also no knowledge to invest in the pitches. This is very bad for the image of Russian football,” Leonchenko said.
Leonchenko added that from the beginning of March every year, matches in Russia should be played only in the south of the country and on the artificial surface in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
“Not only are the other pitches at the start of March in an appalling condition, but also, by playing on them in that period, you destroy the pitches for the rest of the season,” he said.
Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o, who plays for Anzhi Makhachkala, was quoted by FIFPro as saying that the pitches had turned out to be a far bigger problem for him than the freezing cold, which he had expected to be his main concern.
“When I was considering the possibility to go to Russia, I was told that the main problem is the cold. But after a while in Russia I understood that the main problem of Russian football is the condition of the pitches,” the former Barcelona and Inter forward said.
“The present pitches do not allow us to play as we can. This is not football, this is something else,” he added.
He was backed by his Anzhi teammate Vladimir Gabulov.
“The Russian pitches are worse than those on which Eto’o played in his childhood in Africa,” he said.
FIFPro also carried the views of other Russian Premier League players about pitches they had played on recently.
The most outspoken was Roman Shirokov of Zenit St Petersburg.
“How can you play in such a garden?” he said, referring to an unidentified Premier League pitch.
“If the groundsman has chickens and goats, let him use it. You just cannot play football here,” Shirokov added.
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
STRONG CONNECTION: Although she has considered switching nationalities, Garland said that if it was not for Taiwan’s support throughout her career, she would not be in Paris British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese to clinch a victory in a main singles draw of the French Open since 2020 after she outlasted the US’ Katie Volynets in Paris. The world No. 175, Taiwan’s highest-ranked female player in singles, said she would rely on her self-belief as she prepares for her second-round match at the French Open after overcoming a serious injury to qualify for a maiden Grand Slam appearance. After navigating her way through the qualifiers last week, Garland secured her first win at the main draw of a Grand Slam by battling past world No.
RSS