Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer has gone off the deep end, launching a scathing attack on the FFA this afternoon as he plans to launch his own idiotic breakaway football body.
Palmer stated that he is launching ‘Football Australia’ – a canny update of Soccer Australia no doubt – with former A-league boss Archie Fraser as its CEO.
On Twitter he said his aim to replace FFA with “transparency and fairness”, following the axing of his club Gold Coast United. He then backtracked at his press conference, in true Palmer style, and said its creation that it was not necessarily out to topple FFA but would act as watchdog and forum for ideas in the sport.
This move shows Palmer’s tremendous arrogance and ignorance – you can’t just get rid of a FIFA sanctioned governing body because you argue with them. FIFA won’t allow it and ‘Football Australia’ will be ostrocised from the rest of the world.
This already happened in the past, back in 1960 with the Australian Soccer Football Association suspended by FIFA, with player transfers and Australian teams banned from playing overseas competition. Three years later we were allowed back into FIFA and to qualify for the World Cup. Palmer has knowledge or respect of the history, culture and background of football in this country.
He obviously has no respect for those who have gone before – the Johnny Warrens, Rale Rasics, Joe Marstons, Reg Dates and countless others – in our sport.
Apparently, Football Australia’s slogan is ‘We kick harder’, but it seems Clive must have had one too many kicks to the head.
This bid is surely doomed to fail.
Who will join Palmer in this pursuit? The thousands of junior and senior players, football fans in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and elsewhere?
Other A-league owners and officials, referees and others from country clubs to city teams across the nation? Palmer may have a ridiculous amount of money, but I doubt it. This is not Super League.
Maybe Palmer has looked north and seen the example of the rebel Indonesian Super League, and got excited. Whether he wants to set up a breakaway competition or just a think tank, this move is both damaging and stupid.
Earlier today the A-League’s best coach, grand-final winner and former Socceroo Ange Postecoglou, bagged Palmer for holding the competition to ransom.
The Brisbane Roar coach said he found the whole Gold Coast United saga “fairly distasteful and disrespectful”.
“For anyone who is involved in the game or passionate about the game, once people are prepared to put the whole competition at risk just to prove a point they lose me straight away. If I see people using the actual game and competition as a toy I have no time for it.”
Postecoglou said Palmer should “back off, let the team play out the season as it should”.
“Clive Palmer has said all along he’s got some great young kids. Well I suggest he thinks about those young kids because I think they’ve done a fantastic job the last two weeks and unfortunately it’s been buried,” he said.
“The FFA run the game and at some point in time you have to respect the organisation that run the competition. It’s like me going out and saying to the players if the referee is having a shocker then just walk off the pitch because you’re not happy with it’. If people are prepared to put the competition at stake then I have no time for it.”
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