‘Flabbergasted’: WA border backflip to displace Perth Glory for months

Perth Glory have lashed out at the Western Australia government for its border backflip, which is likely to force the club’s two A-Leagues teams to play out their seasons on the eastern seaboard.

Chief executive Tony Pignata said he was “flabbergasted” by the news that WA would not open up on February 5 as planned. Players and staff in the Glory’s men’s and women’s divisions are now facing a long spell away from home - some of them having already spent Christmas in quarantine after an A-League Men player tested positive for COVID-19 in Brisbane last month.

Daniel Sturridge may not play another match in Perth again this season.Credit: Getty

The worst part, Pignata said, was not the millions of dollars an extended relocation would cost the club and its chairman Tony Sage, or the disruption itself, but that they have been given no indication when they’ll be allowed to return home without first spending 14 days in a hotel room.

“It was quite emotional,” he said. “I was expecting when I saw the press release that we would have a date, but we don’t. And that’s the most disappointing thing. We don’t know.

“All we understand is that the government wants to get to a certain percentage of triple-vax, and when we get there, is that going to change? We’ll have to digest this ... it’s going to be a busy weekend.”

The Glory and the Australian Professional Leagues, with the help of the WA government, are trying to determine if it will be possible for them to play any home games in Perth for the remainder of the season. If not, they’ll likely enter a similar arrangement to the Wellington Phoenix, who have also been displaced since the onset of the pandemic and have turned Wollongong into a home away from home.

“It’s been three years that we’ve been doing this,” Pignata said.

“If we’re not playing any home games … we’ve got to think of our fans and members as well. People forget and think we are just a game - and yes we are - but this is our livelihood. This is what puts food on the table for our families and people must understand that.

“We’re no different to the mining sector [because] we provide a service to WA and I don’t think we’re getting respect out of it. When [Premier Mark] McGowan comes out and says, ‘I don’t care about sport’ - that’s fine but think about the people involved in sport and their livelihoods, that’s what’s being hurt at the moment.”

The Glory’s A-League Men team plays Sydney FC at Kogarah on Saturday night, having lost 1-0 to Brisbane Roar midweek in what was their first match in 42 days.

Former Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge, Perth’s marquee recruit, admitted he had struggled with Australia’s varying and, at times, volatile restrictions around COVID-19.

The 32-year-old has done two stints of hotel quarantine in Australia, hampering his ability to build match fitness. He is now unlikely to play another match at Perth’s HBF Park, which was sold out for his debut last year.

“It’s been difficult for sure, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t, but it is what it is,” he said.

“I expected to be able to play at home, for sure, and be in Perth and have a base. Everyone thinks the same. It would have been nice to be able to play our home games and for me to get settled in Perth, I heard amazing things about it. And at this moment, it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to be there, which is unfortunate.

“Every state has its own rules and regulations - obviously, where I’m from in England, it’s one rule for everybody. There’s a lot of things which are obviously very different to what I’m used to ... [but] this is the current situation right now that we’re dealing with as a football club. And we’re going to do our best to manage the situation.”

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