FFA starts search for new Matildas coach but reasons for Alen Stajcic’s axing still unclear

FFA is bidding to draw a line under the sacking of coach Alen Stajcic by targeting his ­replacement, but significant questions remain unanswered over the reasons for Stajcic’s removal.

Football Federation Australia is bidding to draw a line under the sacking of coach Alen Stajcic by targeting his ­replacement, but significant questions remain unanswered over the reasons for Stajcic’s removal.

As FFA announced a panel to recommend the choice for a new Matildas coach, the governing body refused to deny mounting claims that a Gender Equality Culture Survey conducted anonymously by advocacy group Our Watch had been completed by only a tiny handful of players.

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The Our Watch survey was cited as a significant reason when FFA CEO David Gallop announced Stajcic’s abrupt ­departure last Saturday, which FFA has officially ascribed only to an “unacceptable team environment”.

Our Watch told The Daily Telegraph the survey was designed “to understand the current experience of staff, contractors and players”.

However, it has been reported that partners and parents of players were among those who took part, but only three Matildas.

Our Watch referred further questions to FFA, which declined to answer a series of queries about the survey and who exactly completed it — or even how many.

The governing body did announce the panel that will recommend a coach to replace Stajcic — an appointment it hopes to facilitate within three weeks.

Two of the four experts will come from outside football, including an executive from the AIS and the coach of the women’s cricket team.

FFA has started the search to find Alen Stajcic’s replacement. Picture: Getty Images

Part of a panel of four, alongside FFA’s head of national performance Luke Casserly and former Matilda Julie Murray, cricket coach Matthew Mott and the AIS’s deputy director, performance people and teams, Darlene Harrison, will recommend a candidate to the FFA board.

Mott has been engaged for his experiences overseeing a women’s national sports team in moving from a largely amateur to professional environment, while Harrison has already worked with FFA on the development of its Pro ­Licence qualification.

Though the panel contrasts with the one put together to find Ange Postecoglou’s replacement — which included five former Socceroos and FFA staff — Casserly denied the group would lack for football knowledge, with Murray involved also in the panel that chose Stajcic in 2014.

“Julie has worked at a senior management level in government on top of her being a legendary player, and her contribution last time was very independent,” Casserly said.

“My number-one reason for wanting Matt involved is that there is a distinct difference ­between coaching men’s and women’s teams. We wanted someone with experience of an Australian women’s national team at major tournaments and done so with success.”

Stajcic has kept his silence on legal advice, pending a payout from FFA, but FFA deputy chair Heather Reid made explosive comments about him in a newspaper interview this week, claiming that “if people knew the actual facts they would be shocked”.