Sydney FC are furious at Football Federation Australia’s decision to hold the FFA Cup final at Melbourne City’s home ground, labelling it a “slap in the face” to their fans.
Melbourne City scored a 2-0 win over cross-town rivals Victory on Tuesday night to book their place in the decider against the Sky Blues on November 30 at AAMI Park.
FFA boss David Gallop cited scheduling and maximising attendance for the call to hand home ground advantage to City, a call that was made before the semi-finals.
“AAMI Park was selected to host the final to maximise attendance and broadcast numbers while ensuring the cup final is played in a venue that embodies the unique spirit of the competition,” Gallop said in a statement.
Hosting the final in the Harbour City would have given Sydneysiders their first chance to witness Socceroos star Tim Cahill in action for City.
That could have tipped the attendance scales in Sydney FC’s favour with home venue Allianz Stadium – a venue that can hold 45,000 – holding a 15,000 capacity advantage over AAMI Park.
Instead, the two in-form A-League teams will have to wait until December 9 to face off in Sydney.
Sydney FC believe they had a stronger case to host the final, with their fans not being granted one home game during the club’s run to the trophy decider this season.
Of the Sky Blues’ four FFA Cup ties, they’ve played in Wollongong, Perth, at Edensor Park in western Sydney and Canberra.
“The FFA has got this decision completely wrong. It’s a slap in the face to all Sydney FC fans,” chairman Scott Barlow said.
“It was made purely to maximise the profit the FFA will make from the game.”
Barlow said Melbourne hosting the 2015 final – when Melbourne Victory downed Perth Glory at AAMI Park in front of 15,000 people – meant it was Sydney’s turn.
“The fact that last year’s grand final was also held in Melbourne was completely ignored,” he said.
“The fact that we have the best record coming into this final was completely ignored.
“The fact that all five of our FFA Cup games will be away games was completely ignored – despite Melbourne City having three home games.
“Make no mistake, this decision was made by the FFA purely for commercial reasons. It is an unfair decision to our club.”
Kasey
Roar Pro
I think Sydney FC have just gotten used to the fact that FFA always seem to favour the city of Sydney and so presumed the governing body would do so once again. It comes down toexpectation management. Sydneysiders expect to get the rub of the green from FFA and when it doesn't happen, they cry foul. boo fricken hoo. The only fair way to decide this is to mandate in the FFA Cup competition rules from the begining: "if 2 teams from different tiers of the pyramid qualify for the final, the Final will be held in the most suitable stadium in the Capital city nearest to the lower tier team." "if 2 teams from the same tier qualify for the Final, the hosts will be determined by a coin flip with the coaches of the participating teams choosing heads or tails."
Al
Guest
Two venues in a hat, draw out one and that's where it is! Easy
Waz
Guest
I think that's a fantastic idea :)
j binnie
Guest
Waz- How about a "cup final weekend on the "Gold Coast"""" They have the ground,the weather,the attractions and would have the transport people offering all sorts of incentives (cheap travel etc) not forgetting the hotel and unit renting bodies. No home advantage for either team in fact a "Wembley Cup Final" in the real sense of the word. The much maligned administrators in the NSL even tried that with the then national cup final being played in Canberra ,the nation's capital. Good thought. Cheers jb
Mark
Guest
A random draw to determine the host is the only fair method. Sure, someone will still be disappointed, but at least it is transparent and both teams have equal chance of being host, unlike the current system which is totally non-transparent and will always be biased in favour of certain teams.
Pauly
Guest
The bike-pants foodie hipster brigade have well and truly taken over SBS. That network could not be further from its charter as a multicultural broadcaster - niche Hollywood movies should only be on commercial FTA stations, not SBS.
Waz
Guest
How long before a city offers cash for hosting rights? I recon $250k would buy next seasons final !
dinoweb
Roar Guru
What a surprise, Sydney FC upset by an FFA decision, and Sydney journos dirty the game isn't in their town. We all know football in Australia revolves around Sydney, just ask anyone from that city!
Midfielder
Guest
SBS showing their cough cough cough support for the choice by saying FFA will destroy the FFA Cup by taking it too Melbourne... FFS sake SBS wake up. ... so many ego's who believe their poo does not stink... When FFA first had disagreements with SBS ... SBS had two choices one was try harder and listen the second was to spit the dummy and death ride FFA ... we all know which path they have chosen...
buddy
Guest
Neutral territory...send them to Westpac Stadium in Wellington or maybe NIB in Perth. I must confess I long for the day when we kick off the season and we know what date the FFA Cup final is and what date the A League GF is and where they are going to be played irrespective of which teams are in the final. It appears to work for other competitions and if someone ends up getting home advantage as they have fought their way to a final - well lucky them!
Kaks
Roar Guru
At the end of the day, one of the teams was going to end up feeling let down regardless. There doesnt seem to be a 'fair' way of dealing with it in a footballing sense.
marcel
Guest
Yep...at first it seems unfair but then when you see the reasoning it starts to add up. Plus the fact that 20k will be a pretty good gate for this fixture which will look better in a 30k stadium than 45k.
Fadida
Guest
A wise decision from FFA it seems. Still, that won't stop someone blaming them for something :)
Fadida
Guest
Exactly
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Predictable outrage. Maybe this article paints a broader picture of what's going on. http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/melbourne-city/tim-cahill-factor-cash-return-swung-ffa-cup-final-decision-melbourne-citys-way-20161025-gsaqhk.html Cost of stadium hire for FFA: "Sources have indicated that AAMI Park's rate was as little as half as much as that required by Allianz Stadium." Cahill factor: "Secondly City is due to play Sydney FC on Friday December 9th in Sydney, just nine days after the November 30 Cup final date. The FFA would have had an eye on that fixture and would almost certainly have reasoned that they would only get one bite at Cahill making his debut against Sydney FC in Sydney and would rather take it in a Friday night A-League blockbuster on free to air as well as pay TV."
mattq
Guest
someone wasn't going to be happy.