Another off-field incident has left a cloud hanging over the Brisbane Roar coaching and football operations staff’s culture, in direct contrast to the exceptional team culture maintained by the players and their leaders.
I was interested to stumble across a previously recorded podcast littered with irony by Courier Mail journalist Marco Monteverde and Brisbane Roar assistant coach Ross Aloisi discussing a contested match against competition heavyweights Melbourne City in December 2016.
Back in December, much was written in the pre-match buildup between the respective coaches, but it was the action within the 90 minutes that divided pundits. Both coaches played a significant role in the promotion of this fixture where it was obvious the players and support staff from both teams bought into their war of words.
“(It’s) easy to talk in the newspaper, (but) pretty hard to talk when it’s face-to-face,” was Aloisi’s response when asked by Monteverde about the actions of City’s then-head coach John van’t Schip.
As you would anticipate, Aloisi provided the kind of support you would expect of a trusted assistant coach. He went on to question van’t Schip’s courage in not confronting both brothers on match day to have their war of words face-to-face.
Aloisi next took aim at Australian football legend and A-League marquee Tim Cahill, questioning his sideline behaviour and notably the culture within the Melbourne City Football club. Aloisi states that such actions from Cahill would never be seen or repeated by a Brisbane Roar player, as this is “not in their DNA or culture”. With an in-depth knowledge of the playing group, I would vouch for this statement – Roar players group operate by the highest professional standards.
However, from my observations, it was the Brisbane Roar assistant coach, not the playing group, that ironically questioned the standard of Melbourne City FC’s culture.
I am confused about the high horse approach taken by Brisbane’s coaching staff, in particular Ross Aloisi. It seems Aloisi has a short memory when discussing what is deemed appropriate and acceptable sideline behaviour at a football match.
This pre-season, his team played against a local NPL select side on September 24th, 2016. The annual event is served to promote the local league and provides an opportunity for supporters to get behind Queensland’s only A-League team.
Highly anticipated, the match was overshadowed by the sideline antics of the Roar assistant coach’s behaviour towards the opposition bench. This culture was on show to not only the local football community but also many respected Football Queensland and various NPL clubs’ technical staff.
Of note in the podcast, Aloisi again hammered home the point “It’s not in our nature, it’s not in our culture,” when comparing the Brisbane Roar team with their Melbourne City counterparts. The irony being that, only moments after the incident that warranted this label, Aloisi launched the ball at Melbourne City left back Josh Rose.
Aloisi is quoted as stating, “I know Josh Rose and I even said sorry to Josh Rose. He said, ‘not a problem.'” The accepted apology speaks only to Rose’s sportsmanship.
Fast forward three months to today, and after another controversial end to last weekend’s A-League Round 23 fixture between Adelaide United and the Brisbane Roar, the spotlight is once again not on the culture of the playing group but that of the Roar coaching and football operations staff.
Ross Aloisi has been banned for the remainder of the regular season for “unnecessary and forceful” contact on an opposition coach following their loss on Sunday. The publicly-available concrete details on the incident are scant, but it seems Aloisi’s attack on Adelaide United assistant Jacob Ramallo occurred after pursuing him into the tunnel after the final whistle was blown.
While Aloisi and the Roar have a further six business days to respond to the suspension, it’s another showcase of the assistant coach’s deeply ingrained ‘culture’.
The FFA was left with little choice in handing down a ruling based on the “obligations of professionalism that are required of team officials”, noting the behaviour as “completely unacceptable”. Considering the Federal Government’s public campaign on one-punch attacks, the FFA have taken commendable and appropriate action.
Football operations manager Craig Moore has also been rubbed out for one match for the tirade given to officials after running on to the field post-match Sunday. It was totally unacceptable behaviour from a regular FFA youth development player mentor, but at least Moore had the self-respect to put his hand in the air and accept his error of judgement.
Clearly, the referee’s call was a tough decision that went against the Brisbane Roar and led to the sending off of experienced goalkeeper Michael Theo. Despite the opinions out there, knowing Michael Theo I believe this incident is not part of his personal “DNA or culture”. His professional record and conduct speaks for itself throughout his highly successful career.
Rightly or wrongly, an incident that happens on the field during the 90 minutes is determined in a split second and often disadvantages one team. Regardless of the referee’s decision, the alleged actions of Aloisi and Moore tarnish the image of our game at a pivotal moment of World Cup qualification and the A-League’s battle for market share in the highly-competitive Australian sporting landscape.
Reflecting on this pattern of behaviour, it is past time the Brisbane Roar address what is clearly an internal ongoing concern. Ross Aloisi claims such behaviour is not part of the “club’s DNA or culture”, but examples that clearly demonstrate otherwise suggest the club has some ways to go in improving its off-field professionalism, accountability, and integrity to support its performance in the A-League and in Asia.
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