The Malta Rugby Football Union (MRFU) are planning to hold talks with their counterparts from the Malta Football Association (MFA) before the end of the month following a decision that stopped rugby teams from training on artificial turf pitches owned by football clubs.
Last week, the MFA warned its member clubs, particularly those who had benefited from grants from the governing body to install artificial pitches, that if they continue to allow rugby teams to practise at their premises they will no longer receive assistance.
The Malta FA took the decisive stance to protect football artificial surfaces from suffering damage that could be caused by having rugby teams training on their pitches on a regular basis.
The decision inevitably caused uproar among the MRFU teams as most of them found themselves without a venue where to conduct their pre-season.
MRFU acting president Brian Dalton told The Sunday Times of Malta that they intend to clarify matters during talks with the Malta FA.
“We have been in touch with the MFA and we proposed a meeting where this matter could be discussed frankly and, if possible, come up with a solution that pleases both parties,” Dalton said.
“The Malta FA are having an annual general meeting this weekend but their secretary informed us that a meeting could be arranged very soon. We believe this exercise will be fruitful and an agreement could be reached.
“Perhaps, we need to clarify a few points with our friends from the football association to make sure they understand that we ap-preciate their collaboration and that we’re already taking all the necessary precautions to avoid damaging the pitches.
“In fact, none of our teams deploy any kind of machinery during training while all players are instructed to wear the appro-priate apparel and avoid shoes equipped with studs.”
Other alternatives
Dalton added that the MRFU will be sustaining their argument with a series of studies that show rugby practised on artificial turf pitches is of no detriment to the rubber surface.
Meanwhile, Dalton confirmed that the MRFU have also met top officials from Kunsill Malti għall-Isport to explain the situation and to see if they could intervene and find an alternative for rugby teams.
“The Kunsill Malti għall-Isport were really supportive and said they are ready to give us their backing,” Dalton said.
“We’re still hopeful that we can persuade the MFA to reconsider their position but if their decision remains unaltered we will have no other option left but to seek other alternatives.”
As MRFU clubs continue to prepare for the new season with the little options they’ve got, it seems that there should be no problem for the rugby national team to stage their next home international at the Hibs Stadium in autumn.
Malta will resume their FIRA-AER Division 2A commitments with an away qualifier against Lithuania on November 2 before they host Croatia at Corradino on November 9.
“The MFA’s stand does not concern natural grass pitches so we can host our next home international in Corradino without problems,” Dalton said.
“We have a contract in place with the Hibs Stadium management so there should be no worries in that regard.”