Alen Stajcic confusion continues as senior FFA staff face review

Fresh questions are being asked about the process that led to Alen Stajcic’s sacking from the Matildas, while the roles of FFA senior staff up to chief executive David Gallop are set to be reviewed.

The lack of transparency has made this situation worse for Gallop and FFA. (Matt King/Getty Images)

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The nuclear fallout from the sacking of Matildas boss Alen Stajcic is set to continue unabated, with a director of Football Federation Australia promising that the roles of senior staff up to chief executive David Gallop will also be reviewed.

FFA’s board will meet on Monday, desperate to try to contain the damage to the sport and its governing body, but fresh questions are being asked about the process that led to Stajcic being dramatically axed just five months before the World Cup.

Even as candidates to replace Stajcic are being interviewed, The Saturday Telegraph has obtained correspondence in which an FFA director promises that the positions of Gallop and national teams head Luke Casserly will come into focus as more reports come in from the gender equality group, Our Watch, whose initial survey has been a major part of this whole firestorm.

The lack of transparency has made this situation worse for Gallop and FFA. (Matt King/Getty Images)

It can also be revealed that recipients of the Our Watch survey were asked for their observations “at work, across our sport … and day to day”, with no specific mention of the Matildas — or any other part of FFA.

Stajcic himself has kept silent since he was sacked, and declined to speak to the media, though it’s believed he has been collating information with lawyers as a precursor to legal action.

But several sources have told this newspaper that Stajcic’s World Cup bonuses were being negotiated barely a month before he was sacked, having allegedly overseen an “unsatisfactory” team environment.

There are no doubts about the survey that was said to lead to Stajcic’s sacking. (Val Migliaccio)

The furore over his sacking is still raging three weeks later, with board members expected to raise a series of questions about it on Monday night.

Gallop has already told the media it was a “cumulative” decision, based on a variety of factors. The problem is that one by one, those factors have become mired in questions of veracity and transparency.

Initially, FFA chairman Chris Nikou and CEO David Gallop cited a “wellbeing audit” of the players conducted with the players’ association (PFA) and the survey by Our Watch as primary causes for Stajcic’s exit.

But the PFA has told this newspaper that the results of its survey had already been addressed before Stajcic was fired.

Gallop and FFA Chairman Chris Nikou have failed to address the issue. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

“The Wellbeing Audit was created and managed collaboratively between FFA, Alen and the PFA,” a spokesperson said. “It was solely designed as a high-performance tool to empower staff and players to enhance their environment leading into and beyond the World Cup.

“The results demonstrated there were challenges but also real opportunities. With this in mind the same group who designed the Audit agreed to a process to drive this — the first of which was the leadership camp that was held last month.”

Several people familiar with the audit’s contents have told The Daily Telegraph that there was “nothing to sack a coach over” in it. But two days before the leadership camp arranged to tackle its findings, Stajcic was dumped.

The role of head of national performance Luke Casserly (R) will also be reviewed. (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)

Meanwhile, in late November staff across FFA were invited, in an email from CEO David Gallop that The Daily Telegraph has obtained, to complete a survey provided by Our Watch.

Specifically Gallop asked all staff to “think about your experiences at work, across our sport, what you’ve read in policies, heard from staff, players, leadership and what you see day to day”. At the bottom was a link to complete the anonymous survey.

It was completed by 237 staff, 142 of whom said they were involved with the national teams. Though some media reports have said only three players completed the Our Watch survey, no one can actually know for certain precisely because the responses were anonymous. They included respondents who said they were partners and parents of players, and even referees.

The players’ reaction was largely one of confusion. (Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

A frustrated Gallop has said several times that the decision to axe Stajcic was not solely based on the surveys, but also on “other information” — including interviews with players and staff.

Issues such as training loads and constant changing of training schedules were mentioned, alongside the claim that Stajcic had been in the role too long and stopped listening to staff.

Yet FFA director Heather Reid set fire to all that with an incendiary interview in which she intimated there were dirty secrets involved. “It’s a pity that there aren’t more parents and players prepared to speak up about some of his behaviour,” said Reid, who has since stood down indefinitely to address serious health issues.

Her words appear at odds with those of another new director, Joseph Carrozzi, on Twitter last week, that “it was not due to breach of contract … a major cultural reset was needed … don’t look for a smoking gun”.

This is complex. FFA acted in what we believe was the interests of the players. Some will accept it; others won’t accept it whatever the evidence. Can’t hold inquiry because this is a private employment matter and all parties need to be respected esp the former coach

— Joseph Carrozzi (@JosephCarrozzi) January 26, 2019

Some have contrasted the process leading to Stajcic’s sacking with that in 2014 when predecessor Hesterine de Reus was removed. More than 20 players were formally interviewed first in that case, along with staff, and the results were both consistent and damning.

The Daily Telegraph asked the FFA how many players and staff were interviewed this time, and in what format, as well as whether more have been interviewed since Stajcic was fired about his behaviour and why.

An FFA spokesperson said: “It’s not appropriate to discuss those details but we are comfortable with the information that we possessed and obtained which included the evaluation and testing of the results of the wellbeing audit and Our Watch survey that we undertook with staff.”

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Originally published as Alen Stajcic confusion continues as senior FFA staff face review