Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has been accused of neglecting player welfare after a Sydney FC player sustained a ruptured ACL in a rigorous training session that was held after a four-hour bus journey.
Sydney FC women’s coach Ante Juric questioned Matildas coaching staff after one of his A-League women’s players, Taylor Ray, was left facing another knee reconstruction due to an injury sustained in a training session Juric believes should never have taken place.
Sydney FC coach Ante Juric has criticised Matildas’ over their player welfare.Credit: Getty Images
After the Matildas’ 7-0 loss to Spain on Sunday morning, the team travelled by bus from the Andalusian city of Huelva to Lisbon, Portugal, before holding training. It was then that Ray ruptured her ACL following a challenge by a teammate in a robust session.
While injuries can occur at any time, Juric was furious that it happened during a session in which players would have been fatigued following the long bus trip.
Juric spent three years as a Matildas assistant coach and three years as Football Australia women’s technical director before joining Sydney FC as their A-League women’s coach in 2017. He says training sessions would have never been held on a lengthy travel day during his time with the national team.
“We need to minimise any injury risk, not maximise any injury risk,” Juric said. “We would only do jogging or light training [after travel], we wouldn’t have a full session like I heard that that was.”
Coach Tony Gustavsson (right) consoles his Matildas players after the heavy loss to Spain.Credit: Getty
Juric also accused Matildas staff of not undertaking due diligence in obtaining training and physical data from the players before the camp, which he says also resulted in a back injury and achilles injury to two other Sydney FC players.
“A lot of these girls had an A-League season, straight into NPL season, they haven’t had a break ... The welfare thing? I don’t know. It just sounds like a word they use,” he said. “Did anyone contact NPL clubs in regards to their [training] loads? Were their loads sent out? Games played? Intensity level of trainings?”
Football Australia has strongly denied the claims. Matildas coaching sources said they screened players on their fitness upon arrival into camp and sought training data from clubs that could provide it.
Ray, 21, faces an uncertain future as a result of the injury, which will require her to undergo a third full knee reconstruction.
Football Australia sympathised with the injury sustained to Ray but defended the decision to hold a training session after the travel from Huelva to Lisbon. Players who clocked significant match minutes against Spain did not train. In correspondence seen by The Herald, Matildas staff decided to train after the bus trip rather than the morning after the match to provide players with sleep and recovery.
“The transfer of the team on the day following the match against Spain - from Huelva in Spain to Lisbon in Portugal - was approximately a four-hour trip including a 30-minute break for players to stretch legs and walk around,” a Football Australia spokesman said.
“That evening in Lisbon, the players who had low or no load from the match against Spain participated in a training session, which was where the unfortunate contact injury occurred to Taylor Ray.”
Football Australia is yet to undertake its formal review conducted after every national team camp.
The Matildas’ collective bargaining agreement between the players’ union, the PFA, and Football Australia, does not specify training loads on travel days to allow sports and conditioning staff to determine schedules.
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