Several of the big names of Brazilian football, such as Neymar (Santos), defender Thiago Silva (Fluminense) and midfielder Philippe Coutinho (Basque da Gama), They joined on Tuesday to a campaign against the synthetic grass in the players of Brazil.
“It is worrying the course that Brazilian football is taking. It is absurd that we have to talk about synthetic grass in our fields. Objectively, with the size and representativeness of our football, that should not even be an option,” the athletes published in your social networks with a photograph with registration ‘Soccer is natural, not synthetic.’
The players who have joined the initiative replicated in their profiles the same publication, where they sentence that Brazil should ensure soil quality “in which their players play and train”, if you want to “definitely consolidate as the protagonist in the market of world football. “
Currently, the Botafogo, the last champion of the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian League, the Palmeiras and the Paranaense Athletic, which last year went down to Second Division, have synthetic grass on their courts.
Palmeiras responded quickly To the campaign and recalled that his synthetic grass is “certified by FIFA” and goes through “annual inspections” since he installed it, in 2020.
“There is no scientific verification that demonstrates that the risk of injury in artificial fields is greater than in natural fields. On the contrary, a recent study published in The Lancet Discovery Science points out that the incidence of injuries is lower,” said the Paulista Club in a note.
However, he admitted that it is “urgent” to discuss the quality of the country’s play land, but not “with scarce criticisms and without scientific basis.”
On the other hand, Atlético Mineiro, Another of the most traditional clubs in Brazil, announced in December that The installation of synthetic grass will begin In its playing field, the MRV sand.
The coaches make their voice heard
Before the launch of the campaign, several players and coaches, such as the Brazilian National Team Technician Fernando Diniz and the coach of São Paulo, the Argentine Luis Zubeldía, They had already expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact of playing on synthetic grass and alerted about an alleged greater risk of injuries.
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After last Sunday against Palmeiras, at Allianz Parque, Zubeldía confessed at a press conference that left two players out of the alignment, Lucas Moura and Oscar, just because of the synthetic grass.
The Argentine said that “players prefer natural field” and said that, despite the fact that FIFA allows it, “all teams are unhappy” with the replacement of the natural grass by the artificial.
