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The A-League must break for internationals

Sydney FC host Perth in the final round of the A-League. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Roar Guru
13th November, 2014
11

This week’s incident involving Sydney FC youngster Terry Antonis has proven once and for all that the A-League needs to break for international dates.

For those unaware, Antonis was made unavailable for the Socceroos clash with Japan next Tuesday after being involved in a car accident. He had hoped to be available for this Saturday’s clash with the Melbourne Victory.

The FFA have ruled him out of the clash, as if he is unable to represent his country on Tuesday then surely he cannot represent his club on Saturday, but Sydney FC have stated they will name him regardless.

The battle between club and country has been waging for as long as I have been watching the game.

The fact FIFA create international dates is meant to ensure the best players are available to play for their national sides without worry of being penalised by their club.

The A-League continues to shoot itself in the foot by insisting it play on despite the official international dates.

I understand why the league did not break during its early existence – the impact was minimal as most playing in the A-League at the time were not worthy of international selection.

But with the improvement in the league’s standard, as well as the increased number of international names plying their trade in our local competition, the impact on squads is increasing.

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This weekend’s feature fixture is the clash between traditional rivals Sydney FC and the Melbourne Victory. Technically Antonis is unavailable, while Socceroo Mark Milligan will also miss the clash. Although he is injured and unavailable regardless, he would have featured for the Roos against Japan.

Others unavailable for this weekend’s fixtures include Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Matt McKay, and Aaron Moy.

Whenever the Socceroos play, the A-League should break. Or at least spread fixtures out to minimise disruptions. Obviously the lack of fixtures would leave a hole in programming for Fox Sports and SBS for the weekend, but the major European leagues manage.

Missing the internationals is not going to destroy this weekend’s fixtures. Most fans probably won’t even notice that players are missing, but I bet the coaches do.

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