AND FINALLY . . .
Wonky pitch to be fixed after 30 years!
Liniers, a club who ply their trade in the fifth tier of Argentinian football, have finally been ordered to fix their wonky pitch after playing on it for 30 years!
The BBC reported last week that football chiefs in Argentina were prompted to issue the directive after embarrassing images of the pitch were seen around the world on Google Maps.
Subject to much derision online, the pitch's two touch lines are parallel, but both goal lines slope at a distinct angle and one half is much shorter than the other!
The Argentine Football Association is threatening the club with closure if the situation is not corrected by 15 December. The BBC quotes manager Cesar Aguirre who does not believe it poses a problem. "We've played here for so many years that we've adapted to its shape," he said. "Maybe it's the opposition team who need a couple of minutes to get used to the field. But tactically it does not change much." The BBC story also quotes Liniers vice-president Miguel Narvaez who explained how the wonky pitch came to be. "This is a story that began 30 years ago," he says. "In 1984-85, a couple of old visionaries bought seven and a half hectares. "They began the works, they laid the pitch, and at that time there were no lasers. "They pulled the string line and it seems they did it a bit crooked. Now we are now working to fix that." Fifa regulations state that pitch markings should be "rectangular and marked with continuous lines which must not be dangerous".
|
