Sydney: Australia coach Ange Postecoglou was forced into an embarrassing retraction on Wednesday after he let rip about a bitter wage row that has overshadowed preparations for this week’s World Cup qualifier.
A fuming Postecoglou was critical of both Football Federation Australia (FFA) and the players’ union, Professional Footballers Australia, as players boycotted promotional appearances ahead of Thursday’s game against Bangladesh.
“The fact that both sides think the best time to play it out is in the middle of a Socceroos camp is not good enough,” Postecoglou said.
National body the FFA has been locked in the dispute with the union for months as they pursue a new collective bargaining agreement.
But Postecoglou’s comments appear to have irked his employers the FFA, and he retracted them in an FFA statement that made clear his allegiance to the governing body.
“As a senior employee of Football Federation Australia I understand that my comments were inappropriate,” he said.
“In this case, the commercial boycotts imposed by Professional Footballers Australia will directly affect commercial partners and will inevitably hurt the Socceroos programme.
“I made comments yesterday out of frustration. I acknowledge that the PFA initiated the regrettable situation that has distracted us in Perth. I understand that FFA was compelled to respond in order to explain its position to the game’s stakeholders.
“I call on the PFA to undertake that no future Socceroo camp will be targeted in this way.”
While strike action by players has been ruled out and the World Cup qualifier will go ahead, there are fears that the start of the A-League season in October could be affected if the dispute is not resolved.
