Leicester City can no longer have elaborate pitch designs
The Premier League has banned the elaborate pitch designs that Leicester City fans have come to love
During the magical Premier League-winning campaign of 2015-16, many more eyes than usual were focused on the King Power Stadium, the home of Leicester City FC.
Those eyes, along with the magical play of Riyad Mahrez, N’golo Kante, and Jamie Vardy, got to witness the artistry of the Foxes’ groundsmen.
What they saw was far more than the manicured pitches they were accustomed to at other Premier League grounds, but true works of art cut in to the grass. Now, according to new regulations passed down by the Premier League, elaborate pitch designs are no longer allowed.
The rules were passed down in order to align with UEFA’s strict regulations for their own competitions, but the FA has no such regulations in place.
This would make sense for clubs that are playing in either the UEFA Europa League or Champions League but for a club like Leicester City that will not be playing in Europe this season, it seems unduly harsh.
The Premier League released a statement on the official site:
"Pitch patterns and designs will no longer be allowed in the Premier League in 2017/18. Rules state that the playing surface must contain no markings other than the traditional horizontal and white lines. This amendment brings the Premier League Rules into line with UEFA’s regulations for its competitions and follows consultation with the Premier League Club groundsmen."
To their credit, the club is taking the news in stride by joking about it on Twitter but it is unfortunate that the Premier League has taken away something that gave Leicester fans a sense of pride and joy about their home ground.
Pitch patterns... Fun while it lasted! 😎 pic.twitter.com/6ZCNdMQlZ9
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 3, 2017
Many fans of the Premier League took to the internet to air their feelings on the matter and while most were angry with the news, many were simply sad and disappointed to see the league make such unnecessary changes to a rule that never wanted a change in the first place.
The league has plenty of more important issues to handle, such as safe-standing rules or increasing ticket prices that price out the average fan but, they have instead chosen to focus on pitch designs.
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With this news, the Foxes faithful will just have to hope that the play on the pitch will be magical and artistic enough to earn the same plaudits and inspire the same joy that the designs on the pitch have.