A Tumultuous 72 Hours at Sydney FC

On the dawn of Sydney FC’s Round 18 home clash with Adelaide United, all was calm around the Harbour City. The players woke up anticipating a tough game, ground men made their last minute alterations to Allianz Stadium, and fans boarded public transport en route to Allianz Stadium. You’d be excused for thinking the following few days would be that of any other. However what unravelled that night, and following days, sent the club into a downward spiral with a frenzy of lies, threats and, put simply, discordance.

Here’s my attempt of deciphering an extraordinary, unprecedented 72 hours for Sydney FC.

Pre Matchday 18

Tensions were already high coming into the fixture, with Sky Blue fans disgruntled by the lack of vision and dire performances by one of the, if not the, A-League’s biggest clubs. After a surprise 5-0 drubbing of rivals Melbourne Victory, fans were sucker punched with a fist of reality as their club handed bottom placed Melbourne Heart their second only win of the season.

The Melbourne Victory game came as a saving grace for Coach Frank Farina, as supporters called yet again for his head. Having publicly displayed my discontent at Farina’s appointment multiple times on From The Stands AL, I am unable to fathom just how Farina has managed to stay at such a prestigious club for so long. A self-centred man who cares more about his ego than the club as a whole has no place in football. It’s beyond me how we’ve managed to win points this year.

But supporters also were running out of patience with the senior board of the club, claiming the group have failed to secure a viable future for the club, and instead employed stop-gap measures in the shape of overpaid marquees and over-the-hill veterans on short-term contracts. Multiple requests were made by fans to see this “3 Year Plan” that the executives shoved down the throat of supporters through the media, yet to no avail. There was no forward movement, and the only improvements seen were in the board’s pockets.

Needless to say, the combination of the two dissatisfactions had reached breaking point.

Free Speech

As the fans flowed into Allianz Stadium, nothing seemed out of place. It truly did feel like any other home game. The players took the field to warm up, as did The Cove their seats to warm up their vocal cords, just like any other game. At 7:45, both teams took the field, just like any other game. The Cove unfurled a banner, just like any other game. However, it was the messages on these banner that quickly ensured to everyone that this game, indeed, wasn’t like any other.

“WE WANT FARINA GONE” was followed by a message in Cyrillic that called for owner David Traktovenko to dismiss Scott Barlow and Tony Pignata, Chairman and CEO respectively. These banners weren’t cardboard cut outs, nor texta scribbled on a poster. These messages were big, direct and dead serious. Almost instantly, the mood around the ground descended gloomily, and an eerie silence reverberated around the grandstands. The players looked dismayed, the fans confused, and Farina troubled.

Management vs Supporters

The Cove, having been a member of the group, have always maintained a helpful and cooperative relationship with the security members who have watched over the active support area for years. In fact the head of Security, who goes by the nickname JJ, can be seen regularly humming or singing along to popular Cove chants. Evidently, the two groups are in full support of each other.

The banner was raised for quite a while, 5-10 minutes. However, all of a sudden, a message was received by security, who are contracted, not independent, to put an end to the protest. SCG Trust members moved orderly down the aisles of Bay 23 and was seen to pull down the two banners. One member of The Cove was identified instantly and removed from the ground due to her part in the display. That member happened to be the wife of Cove Capo/Leader, and long-term Cove member.

She was told she had been identified as a perpetrator and was taken outside the ground. On order from above, the member had her membership card revoked. This same member, who had been a valuable member of The Cove, happened to have also worked and volunteered for the club itself, and was apparently easy to pick out.

Reports from some Cove Members said that the security had acted purely on orders from the Senior Board, and that they were not worried about the banner. Having already been on precarious grounds, the supporters had enough of the board. Unfair treatment and identification of members who had given time and effort to the club both as a business and a team was deemed completely unacceptable by The Cove, who left the ground completely to protest. The deafening silence got even more quiet.

It must be mentioned that the protest was not directed at the players, and not to Farina to a degree. This misconstrued suspicion was pieced together by outsiders who put the banner and the protest together. The two were solitary incidents. I must reiterate that The Cove have, and always will, supported the players regardless of results and incidents.

”Everything we do is for the best interest for the club. Our actions are not about the quality of football but the absence of leadership within the club. We want the players to know that this is not about them,” Cove spokesman Grant Muir said.

Loss #10 and Post Game

More was happening in the grandstands than on the field. Clearly, and understandably, Sydney FC players were confused, worried and marginalized. That attitude carried on to their game, as Sydney FC slumped to their 10^th loss of the year; the highest in the A-League. Adelaide put 3 past a hapless Sydney, an unsurprising result in light of recent circumstances. Frank Farina even had a beer poured over him by a disgruntled fan, a totally deplorable act in all sense however.

However, an even more controversial incident occurred during the post game interview with fan favourite Nicky Carle and Fox Sports presenter Tara Rushton. Replying to a question of Tara’s, Nicky stated, “You come on as a sub, you want to help your team out as much as you can. I worked hard, but really, playing in that deep role, it’s a mile to get up and help. I’ve been given a job this year and I’m doing my best at it.” It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Nicky is hardly happy with his position, a role he’s been forced into by Farina

Backlash and Cover Up

The backlash during and after the game added yet another spin to the predicament. Fans took to social media to voice their opinions, mainly in support of the actions by The Cove and their brewing disappointment in the board. Some supporters criticized the occurrences, claiming that their actions were to the detriment of the players and their performance. Mainly, however, the happenings were favoured.

Of course, Scott Barlow and Tony Pignata had to respond to the extraordinary scenes they witnessed that night. Almost systematically, the two also took to Twitter to plead their innocence. Tony Pignata first wrote:

“@TPignata9: Fans are entitled to their views We support them. Club did not instruct to eject any1 & I will find out why security acted in this manner.”

Under an hour later, Scott Barlow issued an almost carbon copy message:

Fans have every right to voice their opinions and any suggestion the club instructed signs be taken down or fans be evicted is wrong.

— Scott Barlow (@ScottBarlow10) February 8, 2014

The following day, the club took further steps to cover their backs, yet still remained, at least in their eyes, blameless for the evictions. The club issued a statement that read, “we take full responsibility for the decision, admit it was wrong and apologise wholeheartedly to the fans that were affected and to the supporters as a whole … the supporter in question should not have been evicted and we believe due process was not carried out by stadium security. On behalf of Sydney FC we wish to apologise to the fan affected by the events on the night. The club has met with stadium security today and informed them that we believe they acted without appropriate authority.”

Naturally, fans revolted again on social media, calling the club liars having been amongst The Cove that night. Many still stuck by their story that security were taking orders from above. It begs to reason, if security was indeed troubled by the banners and wanted them removed, why did they not pull them down straight away? Why wait 5-10 minutes of the banner being shown before taking it down and evicting perpetrators. That theory clearly supports that of the supporters, and paints a very cloudy picture of the board.

Nevertheless, the proceedings on the Saturday were covered by every Sunday newspaper, every sport reporter, and every football personality. The likes of Mark Bosnich and Craig Foster supported the supporter’s movements, whilst former CEO Edwin Lugt took swipes at his previous employers. Having been on a good terms with supporters, Lugt weighed in with his disappointment of the club on Twitter:

Sydney FC: just incredible how one arrogant and totally incompetent individual can destroy a club. And no, it's not the coach….

— Edwin Lugt (@EdwinLugt) February 8, 2014

A club should be built around football, not on egos. A vision, a football philosophy must be leading. No opportunistic coach and player 1/2

— Edwin Lugt (@EdwinLugt) February 10, 2014

2/2 recruitment. Stick to the plan. Build a culture and be transparant. Youth development. Money can't buy all. Look at CCM and Brisbane.

— Edwin Lugt (@EdwinLugt) February 10, 2014

Solitary Confinement

After a heated weekend, the players resumed training to get themselves ready for the following weekend’s home clash against Perth Glory. However, fan favourite Nicky Carle and short-term contracted Matt Thompson were banished to individual training and barred from training with the team. The news come after reports Farina dismissed the two for disobeying tactical instructions. Carle, who had grown tired of playing out of position, swapped positions with Matt Thompson to push further up the field, completely disregarding the tactics of Farina and Vidosic.

Legalities

After being forcing two senior players, both with senior leadership positions in the team, to train by themselves and then train with the youth squad, the Professional Footballer’s Australia (PFA, the footballer’s union) have criticised the club and threatened legal proceedings.

The PFA issue a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to clubs that they must abide by. Sydney FC’s actions in banishing both Thompson and Carle are seen to breach these standards, with PFA General Manager, Adam Vivian stating “”The actions of Sydney FC in excluding Nick and Matt from training are not in accordance with the CBA. If the situation is not remedied within 24 hours, we will take the necessary legal steps … This calls into question the behaviour of some clubs and undermines a competition that is based on respect for contracts and a commitment to player wellbeing.”

 

Having summed up the past 3 days, your guess what happens next is as good as mine. Stay tuned, as I feel we haven’t even reached halfway in this tumultuous tale.

Follow me on Twitter: @jordan_lorusso

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