Dunfermline man on offensive in pitch battle
Dunfermline director of football Jim Leishman has insisted plastic pitches do have a place in football.
The Pars will find out later today just how much support they have for their controversial artificial surface as representatives from all 12 Scottish Premier League clubs meet at Hampden Park to debate the issue.
Many managers and players have criticised the initial surface, which has been ripped up and is in the process of being replaced by a new pitch which the makers claim is better.
Dundee United chairman Eddie Thompson is leading a crusade to have artificial surfaces outlawed and has support from other clubs, including Rangers.
But Leishman insisted the game’s governing bodies were behind the idea of all-weather pitches.
He told BBC Scotland: “There are obvious commercial and community benefits and I think the whole debate within football and the SPL is whether it is good enough for competitive football.
“I think the way UEFA and FIFA are going on is they will be here to stay and that there will be a future for them.
“Ours is a pilot project and it is very interesting. The new “grass” that is being laid is definitely better than the surface that went down 18 months ago.”
Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston will fight his corner today and his first task is to stave off attempts to have the vote shifted from the 12 clubs to the four-man SPL board.
Thompson is one member and Rangers are also represented by ex-chairman John McClelland.
