Big Dutch football clubs lament the rise of artifical turf pitches

artificial turf ten cateMost football clubs in the Dutch premier league consider the rise of artificial grass within professional football to be unfair, the AD reports on Monday.

The paper questioned players, coaches and keepers with Eredivisie clubs. Most said playing on artificial turf ‘feels like a different sport’ and a majority of people involved with clubs with traditional grass pitches think it should be banned, the paper says.

Six of the 18 Eredivisie clubs currently play on artificial turf – ADO Den Haag, FC Dordrecht, PEC Zwolle, Heracles Almelo, Excelsior and SC Cambuur, the AD says.

In particular, the big Dutch clubs such as Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV oppose the rise of artificial turf, saying it will damage the competitive position of Dutch clubs.

‘All Eredivise matches should be played on grass, on real grass,’ Marc Overmars, director of football affairs at Ajax told the paper.

‘Artificial turf is for cows with no teeth,’ said PSV assistant coach Ernest Faber.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation