PFA demands investigation into the state of the SCG pitch

The players’ union has called for an independent investigation of the SCG playing surface, which has been slammed as dangerous after Sydney FC’s clash with Melbourne Victory ended in serious injury.

Terry Antonis of the Victory receives attention after injuring his knee playing against Sydney FC at the SCG. Picture: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne

• Kevin Muscat blows up over SCG pitch

Preparations are underway to shift Sydney FC’s top-of-the-table clash with Perth in 10 days’ time to Jubilee Oval, as the row over the state of the SCG pitch has escalated into a widespread debate over the surfaces used in the A-League.

Amid widespread condemnation of the quality of the SCG pitch during Sydney’s dramatic 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory on Saturday night, FFA officials are also urgently looking at other options for the grand final, should Sydney host it.

Victory midfielder Terry Antonis suffered a serious knee injury while running alone on the turf, and though initial fears of a ruptured ACL have abated, the club was waiting for scans on Sunday afternoon to confirm the damage and whether Antonis has any prospect of playing again this season.

Terry Antonis of the Victory receives attention after injuring his knee playing against Sydney FC at the SCG. Picture: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne

Though the SCG Trust issued a combative defence of its turf, insisting no concerns had been raised in advance, Victory backed a call from the players’ union for an independent investigation into how the pitch was approved.

The PFA has also warned that its members reserve the right to refuse to play on pitches deemed dangerous, especially those incorporating a cricket wicket.

In the immediate term it looks certain that Sydney will move their Maundy Thursday clash with Perth to Jubilee Oval, and will play either a semifinal or elimination final there.

.@adampeacock3 has a closer look at that SCG pitch... 👀#BigBlue #SYDvMVC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/5kOTyYYBvb

— FOX Sports Football (@FOXFOOTBALL) April 6, 2019

FFA is likely to make a tentative booking of ANZ Stadium early this week in readiness for playing a Sydney-hosted grand final there, abandoning its plans to have the game at the SCG.

That will please the PFA, but the association will keep up its demands for an independent investigation into how this pitch was deemed satisfactory — and more widely, what processes are used to make those calls every week, given that players are not consulted.

“As demonstrated last night, cricket wickets present an unreasonable danger to the health and safety of footballers and it remains the view of the PFA that players are under no obligation to participate in matches when such risks are present,” said CEO John Didulica.

“We don’t want players at the business end of the season, especially coming up to the semi-finals going on the pitch and just thinking about their safety.”@TheRealBozza on the state of the pitch tonight at the SCG. pic.twitter.com/2B1Bej9GhY

— FOX Sports Football (@FOXFOOTBALL) April 6, 2019

“This includes the SCG.”

The SCG Trust, though, came out swinging, insisting an “independent expert” had passed fit its surface and that no concerns had been raised beforehand.

“As is normal practice, the field has been inspected by independent experts in the past two weeks, with satisfactory results recorded for all codes,” a spokesperson said.

“Hardness levels are consistent across the entire field and well within acceptable levels. No issues were raised during inspections of the field of play by match or team officials before the recent training sessions and fixtures.”

There is some sympathy for the SCG pitch staff, who have had to accommodate more than 50 games and training sessions during March as the cricket tries to fit in game for the tenants displaced from Allianz Stadium while it is rebuilt, as well as the usual games.

Next season the SCG will hardly feature any football, as cricket demands mean Sydney take the vast bulk of their games to Jubilee Oval and Leichhardt Oval.