Andre Burakovsky, Spencer Abraham and Connor McDavid staked the

TORONTO - Despite the threat of a lawsuit from top players, there is no Plan B beyond playing the 2015 Womens World Cup of soccer on artificial turf.Currently no, Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs deputy director of the competitions division and head of womens competitions, said Tuesday in an interview from Ottawa.We play on artificial turf and theres no Plan B.A group of top female players has threatened to file a lawsuit over the turf, saying it is discrimination since men would never play their World Cup on artificial turf.In response, FIFA has retained an independent consultant to examine the playing surface at venues in Ottawa, Moncton, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.Asked why a consultant had been retained, if there were no plans to change the surface, Haenni said: The quality of the turf is of concern to many people.As you know theres different type of turf. Theres older ones, newer ones, and you can categorize them based on some testing. And I think for all of us, including the NOC (National Organization Committee) the Canadian Soccer Association, it will be helpful if we can say a€” proven lets say by an independent company a€” what kind of turf and quality it is. The consultant is accompanying a FIFA delegation that began its cross-country tournament inspection tour Tuesday in Ottawa.Peter Montopoli, CSA general secretary and CEO of the National Organizing Committee, said the consultant was familiar with Canada because he had done a similar turf survey ahead of the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup in Canada.Its been done before and its a natural part of testing to review the pitches that are in play, Montopoli said.Haenni, a former Swiss international, says playing on approved artificial turf is part of the game.Its in the competition regulations and in the laws of the game that artificial turf can be used for any international match including FIFA World Cup qualifiers and has been used for such matches, Haenni said. So thats really no big discussion. Its not about artificial turf yes or no, its just about what has to be in place is the quality.The group of players threatening legal action includes U.S. stars Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan, Germanya€?s FIFA player of the year Nadine Angerer and Spaina€?s Veronica Boquete.Their campaign has drawn support from the likes of actor Tom Hanks, with NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant tweeting in support of the players.Haenni called it really unfortunate that so many of the pre-tournament headlines were about the playing surface controversy.Its a pity that all those supporting stories about womens football and women in football have been lost at the moment, currently. But Im convinced one day FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association will be able to move on and put all those success stories and all those, lets say, wonderful things we can achieve with the FIFA Womens World Cup together next year more onto the media map.Haenni said she never played on artificial turf during her career.Didnt exist at that time, she said. Im older than I look.Asked if she had any sympathy for the women protesting the use of an artificial surface, she said she respected others opinions but its really not up to me to put my personal opinion on any spotlight.---Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . Erik Cole scored on a breakaway with 4:49 to play, and the Stars rallied to defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night. Cheap MLB Jerseys China . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. http://www.cheapjerseysbaseball.com/ .com) - The Carolina Panthers won for the first time in seven games last week, were without Cam Newton due to a car accident this week, but somehow sit atop the much-maligned NFC South. NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap .com) - Devon Johnson ran for a school record 272 yards with four touchdowns and No. Chap Baseball Jerseys . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand.ERIE, Pa. - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. The Midwest Division showdown moves London into second place, a point ahead of Erie. Josh Anderson added an empty netter for the Knights (43-12-5), who tied the game with a short-handed goal from Dakota Mermis and even-strength goals from Michael McCarron and Matt Rupert. Andre Burakovsky, Spencer Abraham and Connor McDavid staked the Otters (44-14-2) to a 3-0 lead in the opening period. Jake Patterson made 20 saves for London, and Eries Devin Williams allowed four goals on 24 shots. --- GREYHOUNDS 2 WOLVES 1 (SO) SUDBURY, Ont. — Jared McCann and Charley Graaskamp scored shootout goals to lead Sault Stte.dddddddddddd Marie over the Wolves. Brody Silk opened the scoring for Sudbury (30-20-10) at 13:08 of the first period with his first goal of the season. Patrick Watling tied it for the Greyhounds (39-16-5) at 19:44 of the first. Matt Murray made 45 saves for Sault Ste. Marie. Franky Palazzese stopped 37 shots for the Wolves. --- 67S 3 BULLS 2 (SO) BELLEVILLE, Ont. — Travis Konecny had the only goal of the shootout as Ottawa edged the Bulls. Aaron Berisha opened the scoring for Belleville (19-35-5) in the first period. Connor Brown tied it for Ottawa (21-34-4) in the second, and Andrew Ming put the Bulls in front at 17:37 before Brendan Bell got the equalizer for the 67s in the third period. Philippe Trudeau made 34 saves for Ottawa, and Charlie Graham turned away 26 shots for Belleville. ' ' '