England qualifier to be held on plastic pitch
McClaren is reported to be unconcerned by the plastic pitch
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Wednesday, 11, Jul 2007 10:54
England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia in October will be played on a plastic pitch after ground staff said there was not enough time to lay grass turf.
The game was originally scheduled to be played at Lokomotiv Arena which holds 30,000 fans but has now been moved to the 84,000-seat Luzhniki Olympic Stadium.
A spokesman for the Russian Football Union said: "The match will be played at Luzhniki and it is now 99.9 per cent certain that it will be held on a synthetic pitch.
"Russian coach Guus Hiddink wanted the match played on natural grass, but I don't think it would be possible to lay out the turf in time for the game."
The Luzhniki installed the FieldTurf pitch in 2002 to fight against the effects of the Russian winter which freezes the pitch.
The pitch is approved by Uefa and Fifa and was used by Spartak Moscow during last season's Champions League, although it is usually the home of rivals Torpedo Moscow.
England are said to be unconcerned by the change of venue and the prospect of playing on the plastic pitch as many Premiership teams use the surface in their indoor training facilities.
A Football Association spokesman said: "An FA delegation travelled to Moscow earlier this week and we understand the match will be played on an artificial surface.
"Steve McClaren is aware of this and is looking forward to preparing accordingly."
FieldTurf is widely used in American Football by teams such as Super Bowl champions, Indianapolis Colts.
England play host to Russia in September before the return fixture in October and are currently one point behind them in group E on 14 points.
Croatia and Israel head the group on 17 points.