U.S. Soccer Cancels Match and The Controversy Over Turf Heats Up
U.S. Soccer canceled today’s women’s soccer match against T&T in Hawaii due to poor field conditions and an uproar follows in the media.
According to U.S. Soccer, after testing the playing surface during the Women’s Nation; Team’s training sessions yesterday — and, after all possible options were exhausted, the decision was made to cancel the match. Neil Buethe, U.S. Soccer’s media person said that “Safety is our number one priority at all times.”
The announcement from U.S. Soccer left fans reeling, especially after Megan Rapinoe tore her ACL in her right knee at USWNT training yesterday and the injury is so significant it will require surgery, jeopardizing her chances of playing in the 2016 Summer’s Olympics in Rio. Rapinoe, the 30 year old 2015 FIFA World Cup star midfielder plays for Seattle Reign and may be out for many months with a long road of recovery ahead.
”All of our hearts feel for Megan and she’s certainly a major part of this team, both on and off the field, so to see her go down is tough” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. ”Players getting injured is always hard, but all of her teammates know that one of the strengths of this team is depth and everyone in the player pool is prepared to step up as we continue to prepare for Olympic qualifying.
The battle again against poor field conditions immediately hit the media and reignited the anger felt just before the Women’s World Cup. Remember when Abby Wambach waged her war on women playing on turf while men played on grass? While Ellis could not say if turf was the cause of Rapinoe’s non-contact injury, fans quickly rose in support of women playing on substandard fields.
America’s sweetheart on the soccer field, Alex Morgan spoke out in apparent frustration. “The training grounds that we were given and the playing surface of the stadium were horrible. I think it’s hard because no one’s really going to protect us but ourselves. So we’re put in a very hard position because obviously we want to play in front of these fans and we want to train before the game but injuries happen when you don’t protect yourself and when you’re not protected from those higher up from you,” Morgan said – reported by FOX Soccer. The questions the immediately rose up were clear as crystal. Is U.S. Soccer Federation protecting their U.S. women who just brought home the Women’s World Cup only months ago?
According to earlier reports, “For me, what I hope for, is that we play on regulation fields in terms of size and quality. That’s my expectation from U.S. Soccer,” Ellis said, adding: “You’d have to ask them their process because I don’t really understand the process. My hope is that quality of surface is at the top of the list for the quality of players that we have.”
Artificial turf has been an going controversy for many reasons. Many say it changes the game. No FIFA Men’s World Cup match has ever been played on turd.
What is the difference? Among the many differences, according to experts and well recognized players – the ball bounces differently. Players are less likely to slide and dive due to the increased injury risk caused by plastic blades of grass. In addition, temperatures on synthetic turf are 35 to 55 degrees warmer on average than on grass fields, so a particularly average sunny day in San Diego will drive the surface temperature to a scorching 200 degrees. All reasons that would be eliminated on a grass field. Wambach has called playing on turf a nightmare.
Anyone remember Sydney Leroux Dwyer‘s social media post after playing on turf from earlier this year?
