The Scottish Professional Football League has defended the use of artificial pitches in their competitions, saying that all surfaces are kept to the highest international standards.

Players union PFA Scotland had unveiled a petition from its members asking for plastic pitches to be banned from the Premiership, and a range of measures and checks to be introduced at lower levels of the game.

Players said the surfaces affected the quality of the game and there has also been a request for records to be kept, and research conducted, to discover the impact they have on injuries.

The league has responded by insisting that quality checks are in place and pointing out that artificial surfaces are common throughout world football.

An SPFL spokesperson said: "It's very important that we listen to the views of players. It's also important to note that every one of the artificial pitches used in the SPFL is independently inspected and certified by accredited FIFA experts to ensure it meets the very strict international quality and performance standards at the highest level set by FIFA.

"Artificial pitches in the Premiership are additionally subject to multiple random and unannounced match-day inspections by independent certified and accredited FIFA experts, throughout each season, to ensure they are properly maintained and that they meet the exacting FIFA Quality Pro performance standards.

"These inspections have demonstrated that with a high standard of care and maintenance, which has been consistently achieved by all of our Premiership clubs, that top-level artificial pitches can continue to meet the exacting performance standards set by FIFA.

"The SPFL is understood to be the first professional league across the world to introduce a system of random inspection against FIFA performance standards in its top division and it has been widely praised for the thoroughness of its system. This is the third season in which this system has been in operation.

"Whilst there will inevitably be ongoing debate on the relative merits of grass and artificial pitches, their use is approved by the SPFL and many other leagues and national associations all over the world and is sanctioned at all levels by the Laws of football.

"Ultimately, this is a matter for SPFL clubs, but we have had no approaches from any such club to change the current rules or arrangements.

"We look forward to further dialogue with PFA Scotland on this important issue."

To scrap artificial pitches, any rule change would require the support of 32 teams.

Specifically, the vote would need the backing of:

- 75% of all top flight clubs (Nine clubs from 12)

- 75% of all championship clubs (Eight clubs from ten)

- 75 % of League 1 and 2 combined (15 clubs from 20)

Premiership managers have been having their say on the debate.

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson said: "In a top league in the country, it's much better if it's all grass. It goes without saying, if we're trying to sell the game.

"People see the game down in England and it's a big talking point. They find it strange because it doesn't exist down there in any of the top leagues.

"In terms of the players, they don't like playing on it. Simply, every player I speak to hates playing on the astro.

"I understand the financial reasons why certain clubs have got it but in general I feel the country would be much better off with grass pitches.

"But players are the most important people in football and they are really uncomfortable playing on it. If they want change, people have to listen."

Robinson admitted that the three artificial surfaces in the Premiership sometimes affected his team selection.

"We've got certain players who really struggle on the astro for three or four days afterwards so you have to make a conscious decision to take that chance to play them and maybe lose them for two weeks after," he said.

"We have boys who really struggle with their joints if we train on it when the weather's poor.

"We believe having a good playing surface encourages a better standard of football, is better for fans.

"Fans pay a lot of money to watch football and we believe that's the way to go."

Dundee manager Jim McIntyre was in charge at Queen of the South with the Championship side using a plastic pitch but he still feels that top-flight football should be played on grass.

"It's a different surface," he said. "I found it fine but I think at the top level then I don't think it should be allowed.

"That's my personal preference on it but I can understand clubs at the lower levels putting that in because of the revenue it brings.

"You can rent it out and it gives you a bit of extra money so I totally accept the reasons for it.

"At the top level, there's enough revenue to be had that it should be all grass pitches.

"My big gripe is that plastic pitches are all different. You look in our league, for instance. Kilmarnock's is totally different to Livingston's."

Livingston boss Gary Holt had no time for those criticising the surfaces, saying it was being used as "an excuse" by players.

"I'm not bothered and that's me being polite," he said. "It keeps getting talked about time and time again. But it's an excuse. People look for excuses all the time when things are not going their way. If I win or lose home or away I never blame the pitch.

"FIFA has declared you can use them so who's to say we can't use them? I think there's more important things in Scottish football that (we) can be worried about trying to implement.

"I hear people moaning on radio phone-ins, blogs and forums that there's not enough grassroots pitches, there's not enough astros for kids, the grass pitches are a disgrace. We can't have it both ways - you can't ask for councils and communities and the SFA to put in plastic pitches for kids to play on yet they can't play on them when it gets to professional level."

Holt was not impressed by PFA Scotland chairman Liam Craig's claim that inconsistency of the surfaces was a problem.

"There's a goal at either end, play the game," he said. "We don't moan when we go to nine places that have grass pitches. We don't moan when grass pitches are too hard, some of the grass pitches at this time of the year are not great.

"When we have frosty days, where do their players train? Indoors, which is harder than astro, or on astro because the grass is unavailable. It's an excuse, move on from it please."

Craig also raised the issue of players potentially missing out on games and bonuses, claiming artificial pitches had a "negative impact" physically.

Holt said: "Well, they must have too much money if they can go to a manager and say 'I can't play on it'.

"FIFA wouldn't let you play on it without doing the proper studies. You show me facts and stats of people getting injured on it any different to grass, then you might have a case. But I don't see it.

"If you give a player a chance to moan about something then they will moan about it and bang that drum. But I tell you now, if I'm getting appearance money and I'm getting a win bonus, you ain't taking me out the team because it's an artificial pitch."

Hamilton vice-chairman Les Gray said it's time for "dinosaurs" at the PFA to "wake up and smell the coffee" as synthetic pitches are here to stay.

He said: "I think the PFA have an agenda that has been ongoing for some time.

"It is something we have heard before, the genie is already out of the bottle.

"I don't see it causing any great change.

"We obviously have to listen to the players but I can only speak for my own club and most kids that have come through the youth system here playing on it, don't complain, in actual fact they enjoy playing on it."

Gray batted away the argument that synthetic pitches cause more injuries, insisting that isn't the case.

He added: "There is no substance to it, if they came out with the raw data demonstrating synthetic pitches cause more injuries than grass we could look at that, but it is not the case.

"We have data that demonstrates it's not the case."

Gray believes the backing of the game's governing bodies means synthetic pitches are here to stay.

The Accies vice-chairman continued: "You can't have four pitches and maintain them within the budgets of a Scottish football club unless you are Celtic or Rangers.

"The reality is synthetic pitches are being driven by UEFA and FIFA.

"These pitches are going down globally at a rate of knots, that is not going to change, the momentum won't stop.

"The dinosaurs at the PFA are going to have to wake up and smell the coffee, it ain't going to change."