Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold says he was misunderstood in last week’s press conference after loss to Adelaide United

SYDNEY FC coach Graham Arnold has challenged FFA to tell him exactly what opinions he is allowed to espouse, as he claimed to have been misunderstood.

SYDNEY FC coach Graham Arnold has challenged Football Federation Australia to tell him exactly what opinions he is allowed to espouse, as he claimed to have been “publicly bashed” on the basis of a misunderstanding.

Mounting a passionate defence of the words in a press conference for which he has been cited and may be fined, Arnold said FFA had “assumed” a meaning that wasn’t there.

Sydney’s loss to a last-minute ­penalty in Adelaide last week had been described afterwards as “criminal” by Arnold, but he was adamant that he had had “one thing on my mind” — and it wasn’t to criticise ­referee Strebre Delovski.

FFA cited Arnold on Monday and will consider Sydney’s written defence before deciding whether to fine and/or suspend him next week.

“In my opinion, it’s wrong to be cited when people assume what I said,” Arnold said.

“My whole ­sincerity, 100 per cent, when I went into that press conference and said it was ‘criminal’ how the game ended, I had one thing on my mind.

“People assume different things. We played for 65 minutes with 10 men. My players worked extremely hard and to concede the way we conceded, it’s not about the penalty.

“To concede not in general play but to concede a penalty which, in my opinion, was 50-50 whether it was a penalty or not. Referees either give them or they don’t and he gave the penalty.”

“It never entered my mind to criticise Strebre, who I think is probably the best referee in the league. So I’m disappointed that you can be publicly bashed and cited publicly on someone assuming you said certain words in a certain way. I think that’s wrong.”

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold is fighting to clear his name. Picture: AAP

Arnold said he agreed “100 per cent” with Delovski’s dismissal of young defender Alex Gersbach, sent off for an ugly tackle on Jimmy Jeggo. “In my view, Strebre’s performance last week against Adelaide was very good,” he said.

“With young Alex, it’s a learning experience. He’s 18 years old, it’s his first red card ever. He had a rush of blood.

“He lost control of that ball in midfield and tried to get it back. You learn from those experiences. Did I come down on him? No I didn’t. He’s a kid and kids learn.”

But Arnold called on the game’s authorities to be consistent in their policy on what coaches can say in response to games, particularly about referees.

“The second part of the citing is me saying (in the same press conference) that I’m not allowed to have an opinion. So now I’m being cited for not having an opinion,” he said.

“I had an opinion three weeks ago about (a possible team in) Sutherland Shire and I got smashed by the chairman (Frank Lowy), so I don’t know. They need to clarify to me what I can and can’t say or what my opinion can and can’t be.”

Sydney will be without captain Alex Brosque for tomorrow’s trip to Wellington as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain, but Arnold said his team should have nothing to fear from the game — as long as they can improve their anaemic goalscoring record.

“Publicly, I’ll always stand up for my players, but behind closed doors they get the truth,” he said.

Originally published as Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold says he was misunderstood in last week’s press conference after loss to Adelaide United