Unfazed by Clive Palmer’s latest threat, Football Federation Australia (FFA) boss Ben Buckley has dismissed the billionaire ex-Gold Coast licence holder as “an unnecessary distraction”.
And Buckley has slammed Palmer’s new Football Australia organisation, saying its recently-launched national inquiry into football should be “treated with the level of disdain that it deserves”.
Buckley said in Brisbane on Wednesday the door was still open for a Gold Coast A-League side to play next season after holding talks with “interested parties”.
A new Western Sydney franchise still appears more likely while Canberra remains a long-term option.
But the FFA boss has clearly lost patience with Palmer after the mining magnate again made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week.
Palmer’s latest move is threatening to sue FFA for $20 million unless they return Gold Coast United’s A-League licence.
He has also announced that Football Australia will hold a commission of inquiry to gather submissions from “all stakeholders” on how to improve the code.
“Clive’s behaviour is an unnecessary distraction for the game,” Buckley said.
“He is setting out to destabilise the great work done by … all who have got behind football in the last five or six years to re-establish football as one of the prominent sports in this country.”
He was just as damning of Football Australia’s national inquiry.
“It has no relevance,” he said.
“It shouldn’t be taken seriously by the football public.
“In fact, I think in some ways people are being deceived by its establishment.
“People should treat it with the level of disdain that it deserves.”
Of Palmer’s threat to sue FFA, Buckley said: “I have seen the headline. I haven’t seen anything that sits behind it.
“That (legal action) is something for Clive to consider.
“Our focus is on the remainder of the season, and also building for next year.”
Buckley will continue talks with a potential Gold Coast saviour but urged United fans to show their support and attend the team’s remaining home games.
“All those things will help determine the final outcome,” Buckley said of the prospect of a big Gold Coast crowd.
“We haven’t ruled out Gold Coast United.
“We are in discussions with parties who are interested in taking on the licence and building upon what has already been established.
“We will assess that in the next few weeks.”
The FFA said on Wednesday it was looking at the “long term viability” of a Canberra team after it was reported they were considering bringing in either a team from the national capital, western Sydney or a Palmer-less Gold Coast next season.
Local businessman and bid leader Ivan Slavich has been mounting a case for a Canberra team for the past four years, with the support of the ACT government and investors.
“It hasn’t been taken out of context – it just wasn’t for next season,” a FFA spokesman said of the report.
“His (FFA chairman Frank Lowy’s) comment was looking at the long-term viability in Canberra.”
Trust Me
Roar Rookie
I think in a strange but appropriate sort of way Buckley was the best person to deal with Palmer. He is very level headed and unemotional and just deals with the facts calmly and rationally. If we had had a hot-headed, reactionary CIO, it would have blown out into a back page war of words and the anti-football commentators and media would have had a field day with it. In the end, the FFA have done a very good job of diffusing the GCU bomb and have focussed primarily on the league and sorting out next season as soon as practical. Palmer is the one left with no credibility and no genuine football fan is taking any notice of him. We now have three possibilities for expanding the A-League next season in GCU under new owners and/or West Sydney and possibly Canberra. The whole saga has actually created more opportunities than before.
Neil
Guest
You can not try and understand a man like Palmer, he is obviously put out because he did not exit the A League on his terms, the GCU operation failed. He is a litigious bully and will set out to destroy football because of his hurt pride. He very well knows when billionaires talk, the media reports it. He will gather the disaffected, the disenfranchised and set them loose to foment trouble for football. The FFA gave into this bully for far too long but like any victim soon or later they will strike back, I implore the FFA not to back down to Palmer, there may be unpleasant times ahead from him, but most of us have faced these types of people in our lives before and we all should stand firm for football.
Midfielder
Guest
Just a tad more on Clive... he plans to sue the government over the Carbon Tax http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/palmer-hits-back-see-you-in-court-20120314-1v3kf.html#ixzz1p7rdVAro There is something of a pattern here I guess... Only put up a non sports item to show a pattern...
Midfielder
Guest
From News limited ... http://m.news.com.au/SportNews/pg/0/fi980847.htm scroll down to the second article ... Circus starring a man with big mouth and big bank balance A PRIVATE email from Clive Palmer to Westfield billionaire and FFA chairman Frank Lowy last month makes for fascinating reading and shows just how erratic and inconsistent the mining magnate can be. The email was sent on February 5 at 6.53pm and is included in a sworn affidavit presented to the Queensland Supreme Court in the Gold Coast Utd v FFA injunction hearing last week. "I just don't think we are interested in football at all u are still our hero but football is not something we like it's not for us but we will do all we can to make our exit without fuss I am way til Thursday please accept my personal apologies for my failure to respond earlier". Exit without fuss? Not long after in this newspaper, Palmer unleashed a tirade towards soccer and FFA management that ended with the termination of his Gold Coast licence on February 29 after a chaotic fortnight of stunts, a coach sacking and illegal slogans. In the same affidavit, an SMS from Palmer to FFA's Head of A-League Lyall Gorman on February 7 at 3.55pm, was quoted verbatim: "We have no interest in western Sydney we would rather support crippled. Children and other than give a further donation to lazy soccer players." The affidavit includes other fascinating insights into the world of big Clive, including his description of a fellow A-League club owner as a "loose cannon" and details of the departure deal proposed by Palmer operatives that would see Gold Coast United "exit without fuss". Palmer and Gold Coast failed in the Supreme Court action. What does this evidence reveal? A circus starring a man with a big mouth and a big bank balance, but little respect for people who just want to play and watch sport. The man "not interested in football at all" now claims he cares enough to fund a football "think tank" and has hired a player relations manager - to help "lazy players". Here's a thought, Clive: think again before you do more damage to football and your own reputation. It's time the circus left town.
PeterK
Guest
I do hope GCU can survive. And probably Western Sydney and Canberra can be instructed to prepare a decent bid for season 9 -- even though expansion is on the back-burner. After all, who knows who else might go belly-up in the next year or two.