Reds fans deserve to know who is pulling the strings at their A-League club
Adelaide United was established as the “People’s Team” ... but needs wealthy owners to keep afloat. Those new owners cannot hide behind a mask at Hindmarsh.
Michelangelo Rucci
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It is time for everything to be out in the open at A-League club Adelaide United. So the Roast this week begins with an open letter to Reds chairman, Piet van der Pol.
Dear Mr Chairman,
We all admire men who stay out of the limelight at sporting clubs, a note we make this week as a tribute to former Norwood Football Club (SANFL) president Nerio Ferraro.
But there is a difference - a big difference - in being a silent, supportive administration and one that is masked in mystery.
Adelaide United was established as the “People’s Team”. Clearly, the people’s money is not enough to bankroll the Reds. So there always has been the need for men with deep pockets to cover the bills at Hindmarsh. And some have burnt their fingers with the Reds.
But from the start, with Gordon Pickard, Nick Bianco and even with Greg Griffin’s consortium, Reds members and fans always have known just who is behind their football club. Knowing who pays the bills also helps understand their intentions with a football club that has a “public” responsibility even if it is privately owned.
You said last week to The Advertiser: “The ownership of the club is in my hands.
“I’ve given the answer to that question last year and I’ve said that the other people do not wish to become public.
“That is for privacy reasons.
“Strangely enough it’s become common for club owners to be flashy, to be an ego, to be at the forefront, but not everyone is like that.
“There are people who do not wish to do that.
“Even I do not wish to do that, but I take my responsibility in the person who makes the decisions here and I’m not afraid to explain these decision to anyone or to go into discussion about this.
“That’s my responsibility and my sole responsibility.”
Sorry Mr Chairman, but this does not wash.
No-one is asking for your Reds partners to appear on billboards outside Hindmarsh Stadium or to do a parade before every Adelaide United match.
They can remain as private as they wish. But they cannot be anonymous.
More so if this football club is to appeal for public funding for any new home in Adelaide.
Then the need to know just who makes up the Adelaide United Football Club ownership consortium will be more than just a curiosity for Red fans and A-League supporters - it will be of paramount interest to all South Australians who will want to know where their tax dollars are going.
There is a growing need for transparency at Adelaide United, more so when there is doubt about the real purpose and intention of the consortium with the Reds.
Mystery creates suspicion.
Transparency ensures accountability.
It is time to reveal just who does make up the ownership of the Adelaide United Football Club. The people deserve to know. In fact, they should have known long ago.
And welcome to the Roast’s e-newsletter, No. 4 for 2019.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au
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