Decision delayed in Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick’s appeal against fine for criticising VAR

Jets boss Ernie Merrick will have to wait to learn the outcome of his appeal against a fine for saying the VAR “must have been asleep” – but he won’t be banned for any A-League games directly.

Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick ahead of the hearing in Sydney on Tuesday. Picture: Christian Gilles

Jets boss Ernie Merrick will have to wait to learn the outcome of his appeal against a fine for saying the VAR “must have been asleep” – but he won’t be banned for any A-League games directly.

After a two-hour hearing in which Merrick’s lawyer argued that his comments after Newcastle had lost to Perth in January were not “derogatory or disparaging” of the match officials, the A-League’s disciplinary and ethics committee reserved its judgment.

But chairman John Marshall SC told Merrick he could be acquitted, have his $3k fine confirmed or have a suspended one-game ban imposed, after seeking the veteran coach’s view on whether a fine or a ban would hit him more.

Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick ahead of the hearing in Sydney on Tuesday. Picture: Christian Gilles

Merrick had claimed that the VAR “was having a cup of tea… and he’d probably fallen asleep” after seeing two penalties denied against Perth, and said that “if it was against us it would be given”.

Merrick’s lawyer, Darren Kane, told the hearing that his client’s words were said “in jest, jocular and in a playful way. He has not brought into question their honesty or integrity, and twice referred to the fact that the best team won the game”.

Merrick himself claimed that the referee’s union had sought to prevent the A-League’s VARs from adjudicating on two matches in succession from their Redfern bunker, saying they were expected to concentrate on every moment of the game “for up to five hours”.

Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick. Picture: Getty Images

He also said that he had decided to appeal against his fine after being told by an FFA official that if he kept silent on the VAR for the rest of the season he would escape sanction – but had then received a letter detailing FFA’s intention to fine him.

Kane played video showing comments by fellow coaches Markus Babbel, Mark Rudan and Mike Mulvey criticizing referees but which he said – and FFA confirmed – did not lead to a sanction for them.

The panel will pass down their decision in coming days but Marshall told Merrick his offence if proven “would just crawl over the line”, and would not lead to him being suspended during the Jets’ finals run in, as last year’s grand finalists seek to complete an unlikely surge towards the top six.