Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke has dismissed allegations of gender discrimination over the decision to play the women’s World Cup on artificial turf, saying the surface could also be used for the men’s tournament in the future.
“It could well be that sooner rather than later the men’s World Cup will also be played on artificial pitches,” he said in an interview on Fifa’s own website (www.Fifa.com).
Forty international women players, including Fifa Player of the Year Nadine Angerer, have filed a lawsuit in Canada, host nation of next year’s tournament against Fifa and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA). They claim that Fifa and the CSA are discriminating against women by staging the event on artificial grass which they say poses safety risks and alters how the game is played.
The World Cup finals for men and women, each contested every four years, have always been played on natural grass.
