The extraordinary reaction to the A-League’s decision to change the sport’s grand final policy has continued with the Melbourne Victory chairman resigning from his role as a director of Australian Professional Leagues (APL).
Key points:
- Anthony Di Pietro resigned as a director of APL due to the decision to change the A-League’s grand final set-up
- The APL is the governing body which runs the men’s and women’s A-League
- The decision, which was announced on Monday, has attracted widespread condemnation
The APL is the A-League’s seven-person board and features the chairs of Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers, Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City, plus a Football Australia appointment and a representative of private equity firm Silver Lake
But Victory will no longer be part of the board with Anthony Di Pietro directly naming the league’s decision to end the traditional grand final rotation policy in favour of placing the season’s marquee match-up in Sydney for the next three years as his reason for standing down.
“It has become clear that in order for me to act in the best interests of Melbourne Victory and football in Victoria, I needed to resign as a board member of APL,” Di Pietro said.
“My resignation was ultimately driven by the decision announced yesterday that sees the next three grand finals being hosted in Sydney.
“While I know firsthand the decision by APL was made with a view to growing the game and creating financial sustainability for the League, the fan and member sentiment has been overwhelming and I cannot support maintaining a decision which is not in the best interests of the loyal Melbourne Victory faithful and football.
“As such, together with Caroline (Carnegie, managing director), we have urged APL to pause this plan and consider an alternative that supports the growth and stability of the league while also allowing both the men’s and women’s A-League grand finals to continue to be played in the city of the highest-ranked qualifier.”
The decision to play the next three men’s and women’s grand finals in Sydney has attracted widespread condemnation from players, fans and clubs alike over the past 24 hours.
Western United, which claimed its maiden premiership on home soil this year at AAMI Park, added its voice to the growing crowd of discontent.
“We do not support the A-League Men’s, A-League Women’s or the E-League grand finals being played in Sydney for the next three seasons,” United said in a statement.
“Our club isn’t represented on the APL board, and we weren’t consulted on the decision announced yesterday.
“While we are grateful to Destination NSW for wanting to support football financially and the APL’s efforts to increase its commercial revenue, the reaction of our fans over the last 24 hours speaks volumes.
“Western United is a young club that is being built for the football fans in the west of Melbourne and Victoria.
“We strongly believe that they are entitled to attend a grand final in their home state should we be successful in earning the right to do so.”
APL chief executive Danny Townsend told ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday the clubs were complicit in the arrangement.
But both United and Wellington Phoenix, which also does not have a representative on the board, have said they were not involved in the decision-making.
Victory’s active supporters, Original Style Melbourne, have announced they will stage a 20th-minute walkout alongside City supporters at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
City winger Marco Tilio hoped his own terrace would stick around.
“The fans obviously are frustrated. But for me as a player, I’ll just go out there to perform, and I support our fans to hopefully stay there for 90 minutes of the game,” he told reporters.
Supporter groups of all A-League Men’s (ALM) clubs released social media statements accusing the APL of betraying fans.
Socceroo Craig Goodwin, who appeared in the APL’s video announcement, was scathing.
“I may be in the video for the A-League Men choice to host grand finals in Sydney, but I do not support it,” the Adelaide United captain wrote on Twitter.
Goodwin was backed by Sydney FC A-League Women striker Remy Siemsen, who tweeted: “Like all competitors I have loved earning the right to play a home grand final and would love it to stay being earned.”
Townsend said the move was intended to create a “festival of football” around the final, conceding they did not expect such a heavy backlash.
“We understand the fans are emotional about this and are passionate about the grand final structure we’ve had,” he said on Tuesday.
“We certainly don’t want to see walkouts but I’m sure we’ll work with fans over the next couple of days to try and help them better understand the rationale behind our decision.”
Perth Glory chairman Tony Sage previously told radio station 6PR he was caught unawares by the decision and had believed clubs would be voting on the plan on Thursday.
AAP/ABC
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