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Now, with this upcoming Women’s World Cup (“Canada welcomes the world”) CSA and FIFA have outdone even themselves in their capacity to attract unwanted controversy.

They have come up with a plan to play the games of the tournament on artificial turf.

To be clear, soccer players of every professional level loathe artificial turf. They claim that it is harder on their joints when sprinting. It is tougher on their legs when tackling. It causes more injuries. When top soccer teams like Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid go on tour, their officials insist that their games are played on real grass. Want them to play? The organizers have to put in natural grass or there is no game.

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, as in every previous men’s tournament, the games were played on grass.

Men play their World Cup on grass: women should play on grass. To say otherwise, is sexism pure and simple.

This is the view of dozens of the world’s top female players including almost the entire American national team and 13 U.S. senators. The women have hired a lawyer to file a suit before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. Other top female players have, according to documents filed before the tribunal, been intimidated by soccer officials to withdraw their support for natural grass.

The excuses not to have grass for Canada’s hosting of the World Cup has ranged from the feeble to the bizarre. Some have suggested that our country does not have enough grass in June to properly cover the fields (news to many of us who live here).