Fringe Socceroos midfielder Luke Brattan is a free agent after securing a release from his contract with embattled A-League club Brisbane.
Brattan had demanded a termination of his contract due to more than a year of outstanding superannuation payments, and an independent arbitrator ruled in his favour on Friday at a hastily convened hearing following an appeal from the Roar.
The arbitrator ruled Brattan was legally entitled to leave the Roar, having given the club the mandatory 14 days to remedy a financial breach of contract.
It means Brattan can sign with the club of his choice, with Europe his most likely destination.
Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) chief Adam Vivian said Brattan’s case was clear cut.
“The decision by the arbitrator highlights the consequences that clubs face when they fail to honour their financial obligations to players,” he said in a statement.
“The club has repeatedly breached the (standard player contract) by its longstanding failure to pay superannuation.
“The club’s conduct highlights why the PFA must act to protect the rights of the players in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement.”
It was a busy day for Brattan – he was also called into the Socceroos’ squad for coming World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Tajikistan.
Replacing injured captain Mile Jedinak, the 25-year-old has the ideal chance to showcase his wares to any potential new suitors.
Lionheart
Guest
Brats carried an injury most of last season. He has had Brighton interested, and other clubs he says. Good luck to him in any case.
Waz
Guest
I think there's another factor in both his and other Roar players "patchy form" last season which was the player payment issues have been going on for 12 months, Super in particular has been late for over a year. You put this into perspective with Berishas departure and Mulvey's sacking to name two and the inconsistency in individual and team performance is better understood. The report in Friday's rag questioned why the FFA allowed the Backries to get away with under payments for a full season and is part of the PFAs current angst, driven not least by Matt McKay no doubt who's at the centre of this of course.
144
Roar Guru
I agree his form in their title winning season was on point but i think the morale of the club half through the season sitting mid table and champions league affected his fitness and/or form. Brattan said he wanted to challenge Europe. Not sure if that is a long shot or realistic, it'll definitely be hard considering he no longer has a club.
Waz
Guest
Interestingly it seems Brattan is not a free agent ........ yet. The club have appealed the decision and intend to appeal "further" if they lose that. Let's assume they win their appeal, how motivated is Brattan going to be if he's now forced to honour a contract he considers his employees already breached? Yet another example of poor decision making by the club - the Bakries desire to try and milk every dollar they can out of the sale of this club could be the death of BRFC - if they are still the owners come October I think they'll face a fan boycott of games which will be a disaster for Roar and trash any hopes the HAL have of growing attendances next season.
Neil
Guest
Luke's form last season was very patchy and maybe it is time for him to move on to improve.
j binnie
Guest
Waz - Playing Luke at centre back was not one of Frans' better decisions but I am not talking about Luke's ability to play centre back I am more interested in what you asked,how or who will replace him in his defensive role.That to me is not a huge problem for in that role Luke's lack of pace oft times caught him out resulting in many fouls being committed in dangerous situations. Also I doubt if I have ever seen him win a ball in the air so a Donnachie or De Vere could actually improve that aspect of the position to offset Luke's superior passing skills.Clut is still young but more exposure could see him improve and he has shown he is not afraid to have a shot at goal. You finished by asking ,"what financial issues???" You are kidding of course? jb
Lionheart
Guest
Looks like Brats has taken advantage of the situation to make his move to Europe. Such is the pity, no transfer fee for Roar. Considering how long it took Tommy Oar to find a new club, will Brats find anyone interested? Good luck to him, he's got a great pass and scored some good goals for us two seasons back, but he is injury prone and may struggle with more games. Wouldn't be surprised to see him back in a few years.
Waz
Guest
I'm surprised you're surprised!?! Any one of the mentioned players could do the defensive role yes, but as we saw when Bratten was moved to CB last season that position doesn't suit his skill sets and if we move one of the traditional CBs a step forward I think we'd find the same problem reversed with just basically a third CB unable to provided the range of passing Bratten did. Clut, no imo, Lustica possibly and might prove to be a better fit for Aloisis desire for a more forward playing "Bratten" ... Michael Thwait was offered up as a Bratten back up but to be honest even though I watched plenty of games last season he doesn't stand out for me so I'm not sure. In regards to the financial issues - what financial issues, I'm taking the view now that if there were any financial issues the FFA would have acted by now soooo ....
j binnie
Guest
Waz - Surprising question when one considers the number of centre backs on Roar's books. North,DeVere,Donnachie are all tried and in that position and with Bowles and Steffanuto having appeared as centrebacks quite recently surely one of them could be moved forward to do the screening role,essentially a defensive role, that was filled by Luke. An alternative is to recognise that McKay, who has never in his career been recognised as a finisher and who in football terms is now coming on in years,could also fill the role thus releasing a position for an attacking midfielder who is a proven goal scorer,both Clut and Lustica having done that in recent games. Not nearly as big a problem as the financial one. Cheers jb
Bob
Guest
Polenz? Hingert to right back?
Waz
Guest
Being a bit more practical and ignoring the Bakries "how-to-run-a-football-club-into-the-ground" circus .... Who do Roar have to replace Brattan? McKay, Lustica, Clut .... probably not? Bowles maybe but unproven? Michael Thwait possibly but who would sign for Roar while the bad smell that is the Bakries lingers? thoughts?