Bellamy 'not a fan' of artificial pitches and can't understand why

CRAIG Bellamy says he does not understand why Wales are playing their World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan on an artificial pitch.

- By PHIL BLANCHE

The Astana Arena was opened in July 2009 at a cost of 185 million US dollars and the 30,000-capacity venue is used to hosting major club and international football matches as Kazakhstan’s biggest stadium.

Although the stadium has a retractable roof, artificial turf was installed to protect the pitch against the harsh Kazakh winter.

The surface has passed the ‘FIFA 2 Star test’ to ensure artificial turf meets professional, international standards - but Bellamy insists Wales should be playing on a conventional grass surface.

“We're not exposed to it, we don’t play on it, I’m not a fan of it,’ Wales manager Bellamy said ahead of today’s Group J qualifier in Astana.