By David Gold
March 16 – Sergei Fursenko, the head of the Russian Football Union (RFU), has threatened to close the stadia of clubs who do not look after their pitches.
The Russian Premier League has recently resumed following a winter break in a transitional season which sees Russia come into line with other major European leagues.
Debate has raged since over the condition of pitches, with a number coming in for criticism for cutting up easily.
Krylia Sovetov’s pitch has been criticised twice this season – in matches against CSKA Moscow where the game had to be postponed and versus Dynamo Moscow when the ball did not bounce in wet conditions.
Rubin Kazan’s ground was also questioned after their match with Lokomotiv Moscow.
Questions have been raised over whether this means, with a new football calendar which runs from autumn to spring, the quality of Russian football could suffer.
“We’ll place harsh sanctions on arenas that don’t meet our criteria,” Fursenko told sportbox.ru.
“We’ll temporarily close stadiums,” he added, saying that the winter “is no excuse for pitches where it’s impossible to play football”.
Fursenko also used the example of Zenit St Petersburg’s pitch against Benfica in the Champions League to illustrate that teams had no excuses for poor playing surfaces.
“Somehow the northernmost club in the Premier League, in St Petersburg, was able to host a Champions League match at the appropriate level.”
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