What a night it was on Friday. The A-League clash between two-time champions Melbourne Victory and the impressive top of the table Brisbane Roar definitely lived up to the hype, however not without its fair share of controversy.
What did we learn from the absorbing 3-3 draw?
The A-League is technically improving and is here to stay and Brisbane Roar is a formidable team in Australian football.
Melbourne Victory despite their mid-table mediocrity, has the potential to outclass any team on their day.
Finally, competent refereeing is still a major issue for the A-League.
With the heartbreak of the failed World Cup bid falling the way of Qatar, a minnow in the football fraternity, it was an extremely testing time for Australian football followers and indeed a hard pill to swallow.
If the USA bid had won the rights, the disappointment would still be apparent, however the acceptance of losing to them would have been much easier to acknowledge. There’s a difference between rightfully earning the World Cup and buying it.
Once again, Australian football was injected with a needle of pain and agony, nevertheless the A-League demonstrated why there is so much unmarked potential for football in this nation. The contest at AAMI Park exemplified how far football has come since the inception of the competition in 2005.
It was arguably one of the most technically sound, skilful, end to end and exciting brands of football fans have witnessed on our Australian shores for a domestic league fixture.
The atmosphere was electric, at times defining. It was an environment which is rarely portrayed by any other football code within our Australian market. It was a fabulous exhibition of football and revealed why the A-League is an important component on the Australian sporting landscape.
Amid attempting to secure the competition in the hearts of the Australian market, this contest showed why football can be such an exciting spectacle.
Brisbane Roar demonstrated why they are top of the table on Friday night. Their work ethic, technical playing style and workmanship are great attributes to desire. If they keep this form up, they will be a hard outfit to outplay for the remainder of the season.
Regardless of Victory’s mid-table mediocrity, the team has the ability to match it with any given team. The return of mesmerising wing-back Matthew Kemp and a fit in-from Archie Thompson – who is regarded as the most influential player in the squad – have energised an enormous spark throughout the camp. A possible return of workhorse Danny Allsopp within the coming month will also hearten the Melbourne faithful.
With Victory’s winning mentality sworn throughout the club, it’s hard to argue against the prospect of the club challenging throughout the finals series, assuming they qualify. If in form, teams will want to avoid a confrontation with Victory.
However, one of the major concerns from Friday night’s fixture was the apparent incompetent refereeing display from head referee Peter Green and his assistant Shaun Evans.
In the 92nd minute Brisbane goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos clearly handled the ball outside the penalty area. With avid protests from a stadium encompassed by passionate supporters, Theoklitos quickly disposed of the ball which subsequently broke down the Victory defence and allowed Matt McKay to beat Melbourne goalkeeper Michael Petkovic on his second attempt.
Decisions like this are a blight on the game. It’s simply not good enough at this level of football. As football fans we don’t want controversial decisions affecting the results of important matches.
A similar incident occurred during the Sydney vs. Newcastle fixture last month. Sydney’s Japanese import Moriyasu was seemingly over the line when he cut the ball in all for Cazarine to simply tap in. Consequently, Cazarine’s goal was deemed the winner as Sydney claimed victory 1-0.
Friday night’s encounter had everything; however despite the exceptional standard of football, it will be remembered for the unfortunate decisions made.
The fixation that is most baffling about the Theoklitos incident was that the decision was obvious to the blind eye; three blind mice could have seen the keeper handle the ball outside his area.
There is a major problem with the refereeing standards in the A-League. Too many games are being determined by incompetent, inexcusable and unforgivable refereeing decisions.
Yes, we all know that in football bad decisions are apparent; however they are happening far too often in the A-League. The standard of refereeing creates a negative image for the competition and doesn’t earn the league much credibility domestically amongst football fans and abroad.
There is simply not enough competition for the top referee jobs in Australian football. Competition for spots encourages a higher performance level and will subsequently improve the standard of officiating over a period of time.
Presently, there are only seven A-grade panel referees in Australia, they include: Matthew Breeze, Chris Beath, Peter O’Leary, Gerard Parsons, Ben Williams, Strebre Delovski and Peter Green. With five A-League matches per weekend and often mid-week fixtures every referee is almost guaranteed a stint each week.
Football legend Robbie Fowler expressed his opinion on the matter in his weekly column for The Western Australian. He believes referees are not being punished for poor performances unlike the players. “If players have bad games, they are dropped. Some of our mistakes are punished with red cards. It should be the same for bad refereeing performances,” Fowler said.
With the technical standard of the A-League notoriously improving each season, it seems as though the officiating isn’t heading in the same direction. Fowler is concerned with the standard of refereeing in the A-League after his team Perth Glory were deprived of two obvious penalty calls during the 1-1 stalemate with North Queensland recently.
“Bringing in overseas officials might be a good way of improving the standard of refereeing in the A-League. Apart from being a fantastic place to live, it would also give them a chance to help improve the developing A-League and pass on their experience to the referees coming through here,” Fowler stated.
Fowler raises a great point, the FFA need to be innovative and think outside the square. It is evident there has been an influx of inconsistency among the refereeing this season, obtaining creditable referees from Europe can only help the development of our locals here. Referees are an important resource to our game. The better training and development programs will only reap benefits for Australian football.
It is unjust for the clubs and more importantly the fans, who graciously provide their hard earned disposable income to support Australian football. We want our football games to be remembered for the fantastic goals, sublime passing, attacking minded philosophises and hard-fought contests, not the controversial decisions which in effect have a bearing on the results and accordingly gives no free-kicks to the code.
So, what did we discover from Friday night? Forgetting the controversy which marred the final result, Brisbane Roar are a force to be reckoned with. The Roar has the ability to obtain results no matter what the situation entails, an attribute which was evident throughout Melbourne Victory’s Championship campaigns.
From a Victory perspective, the Melbourne outfit flaunted their true football status within Australia, demonstrating why they are still a team to be feared in the coming weeks.
The refereeing debacle near full-time further illustrated the growing problems with the standard of officiating within the A-League. Hopefully the FFA can take a proactive approach and enhance the situation.
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