Rangers manager Philippe Clement’s one man Scottish pitch “standards” improvement mission has taken a new twist as the SPFL prepare to gut Dundee.
The Gers’ Scottish Premiership clash at Dens Park was called off at the weekend due to a waterlogged pitch, the third Dundee call-off at the stadium this season.
The situation was made worse by a distinct lack of communication from the Dundee end, with Rangers not finding out the match was under threat until 9am.
With the kick off at 12pm, the game was eventually called off around 10:30am, with thousands of fans having made the journey, leaving Rangers and broadcaster Sky Sports furious.
Dundee face pitch investigation after Philippe Clement plea
Now an SPFL spokesperson has confirmed that an investigation is set to be launched into the situation after Philippe Clement had questioned a lack of “standards” over surfaces in the country.
As quoted by STV, the spokesperson said: “The postponement of any match is disappointing given the impact it has on supporters.
“This was particularly disappointing given the fact it was a live Sky Sports match and the proximity of the match to the split. The SPFL will be investigating the circumstances surrounding this postponement.”
It comes after Rangers manager Philippe Clement had lamented the standard of the surface – beyond Dundee’s woeful communication – and called on “standards” to be improved.
The Rangers boss has previously been vocal about the state of Scotland’s pitches, claiming the surfaces at the likes of St Johnstone and Kilmarnock reduce the quality of the national game’s product.
“I think it’s a very important thing for the future that a league thinks about how to raise the level of the pitches and put standards on that like they do on other things,” said Clement.
“They have standards with things like lighting, for example, to have a good broadcast of the game and to have a good product.
“Sure, the lights are really important. But even more important is the quality of the pitches, I think.”
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Dundee have made a real pig’s ear of this, a situation made more remarkable by John Nelms’ ‘don’t back down, double down’ comments in the wake of the situation.
The club’s managing director admitted that Dundee were out forking the surface from 5am, something which upset Rangers who weren’t informed until their kit man arrived at the stadium.
It’s clear the Dens Park club have a real problem with their surface and let’s hope Philippe Clement’s clear, succinct, and responsible pitch comments land somewhere at Hampden.
The Rangers boss is making it clear that the game cannot move forward without improving these surfaces and it’s time for Dundee to pull their socks up in this regard.
The likes of the Daily Mail are now claiming that the SPFL at ready to charge Dundee over the situation, with the state of the pitch a breach of the national game’s rules.
Scotland can’t claim to take it’s game seriously so long as dangerous surfaces, unplayable surfaces, and plastic surfaces are allowed in the Premiership.
With the discussion over the abandonment of plastic pitches already some way down the line, let’s hope standards on grass are also established going forward.
