Denmark's players say no to artificial turf

A survey carried out by the Danish players' union, Spillerforeningen, showed 96 percent of respondents would prefer to see clubs invest in natural grass rather than artificial pitches.

The survey results were published on the website of international players' union FIFPro.

"The Superliga players speak jointly and with a clear voice. They do not want to play on artificial turf," director of the Danish PFA Mads Oland told FIFPro.

Eighty three percent of Danish players believe the game changes fundamentally when played on artificial turf, with Oland citing the speed and bounce of the ball and the lack of sliding tackles as being major differences.

Denmark's Superliga takes a winter break of almost three months to avoid playing on natural grass in bad weather.

Superliga club FC Nordsjaelland aims to introduce an artificial pitch for the 2012/13 season - something 71 percent of association's members say will give them an unfair advantage.

"No matter how you look at it, it makes the tournament unequal that FC Nordsjaelland will play every second match on turf that is dramatically different from those of the other clubs," Oland is quoted as saying.