‘Absolute disgrace’: A-League grand final move slammed as Melbourne fans plan derby walkout

Fans of Melbourne’s two biggest clubs have vowed to stage a walkout during Saturday’s derby in protest at the A-League’s controversial decision to sell its men’s and women’s grand finals to Sydney, which has split club owners and prompted Socceroos star Craig Goodwin to voice his personal objections.

Domestic football in Australia has long stood apart from the other codes by granting the highest-placing team the right to host the A-League decider, which has been taken to all five major capital cities in the competition’s near-two-decade history.

Teams like Western United, last season’s A-League grand final winner, will have to travel to Sydney for the decider.Credit: Getty Australia

But the Australian Premier Leagues have traded away this national reach for an eight-figure fee - believed to be north of $15 million, according to sources - from Destination NSW, the state government’s lead tourism arm, which will see the men’s and women’s A-League grand finals played in Sydney through to the end of 2025.

It means that at least until then, the A-Leagues will fall in line with the AFL, who play their grand final at the MCG every year, the NRL, who have traditionally done the same at Accor Stadium but are threatening to take theirs elsewhere after a dispute with the NSW government over stadium funding, and Super Netball, who recently signed a similar with Visit Victoria but were slammed earlier this year for an eleventh-hour contract to take their showpiece to Perth, citing financial concerns.

The announcement on Monday morning went down like a lead balloon, instantly torpedoing the goodwill generated by Australia’s history-making run at the World Cup in Qatar and dampening hopes that it would boost the struggling A-League.

Original Style Melbourne, Victory’s main active support group, said they and rivals City Terrace would walk out of AAMI Park at the 20-minute mark of Saturday night’s derby, one of the competition’s marquee events.

“We will be walking out at the 20th minute and not returning. City Terrace will follow. We strongly encourage ALL Victory and City fans to do the same,” OSM said in a statement.

“It’s the duty of anyone inside the stadium who cares about the integrity of the game in Australia to support this action. You can’t fight the fans. You will not win.”

A-Leagues chief executive Danny Townsend says the deal gives fans the “best of both worlds”.Credit: James Alcock

APL chief executive Danny Townsend said the vociferous reaction was “not a surprise”, but stressed the league’s seven-person board - which features the chairs of Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers, Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City, plus a Football Australia appointment and a representative of private equity firm Silver Lake - had reached a unanimous decision for the long-term good of the game.

However, Perth Glory chairman Tony Sage said clubs without APL board representation were blindsided by the announcement, while Goodwin - who was part of a video promoting the deal as an opportunity to create “future history” - distanced himself from it.

“I wanted to clear things up publicly. I may be in the video for the @aleaguemen choice to host Grand Finals in Sydney, but I do not support it. I am a player, but I am also a fan,” the Adelaide United winger wrote on social media.

Socceroo Craig Goodwin has seemingly withdrawn his support for the A-League’s controversial grand final move.Credit: AP

“The fans are the most valuable thing in football and as we have seen from the support throughout the country for the Socceroos at the World Cup, they are the ones that create the atmosphere and culture, and what makes the game great.

“Like many fans around the country, and like I said, I too am disappointed in this decision. Thanks.”

Melbourne Victory released a statement, saying the club’s “preference is, and always will be, to play any grand final [that we earn the right to host] in front of our fans at our spiritual home and what we believe to be the best football stadium in Australia, AAMI Park”, but stopped short of criticising the decision.

Meanwhile, the Victorian Government says its tourism arm Visit Victoria – which in October signed as a major sponsor of Netball Australia and secured the 2023 Super Netball grand final hosting rights – did not receive the opportunity to bid for the A-League deciders.

“The Victorian Government was not approached by the A-League in relation to the three-year grand final deal,” a government spokesperson said.

Sage later told this masthead he understood the logic and financial imperative behind it but warned it would “disenfranchise” fans.

“I thought it was going to be voted on at the owners’ meeting on Thursday, but obviously, wires crossed,” Sage said.

An email exchange with Brisbane Roar chairman Christopher Fong posted by a supporter on social media said his club didn’t agree with the move, and that he expected “broader consultation” before any announcement.

Townsend said the idea - which the Herald has previously reported was considered as far back as 2017 - was originally brought to the APL by the NSW government over 12 months ago, and no other state was able to match their offer.

The A-League Women’s grand final is to be held on April 30, with the men’s on June 3, although a stadium has not been confirmed for either. With the annual Dolan Warren Awards to be held two nights before the men’s grand final, Townsend said APL would work with the NSW government to turn the grand finals into week-long experiences for fans.

The APL has pre-booked Sydney’s three main rectangular venues - Accor Stadium, Allianz Stadium and CommBank Stadium - for the men’s decider and will decide which to use based on the teams that qualify, mindful that fans from outside NSW may struggle to travel given the high cost of domestic airfares currently.

Townsend said APL had already begun conversations with Qantas, an A-Leagues sponsor, and Bonza, a new airline due to launch next year which sponsors Melbourne Victory, and said there was “an appetite” to provide cheaper flights.

He also said the concept had been discussed with fan focus groups, who outlined the arguments against the move.

“None of what we’re hearing is surprising to us,” he said. “I think what we hope in the fullness of time is that the fans understand that the game needs to make these type of bold, brave decisions for the good of its long-term sustainability and we’re confident that in time, we’ll look back on this decision and hopefully, everyone will understand why it was made.

“At the end of the day, we’re a professional competition and by definition, it requires commercial investment, and to get that from governments, corporate partners, [and] broadcasters around marquee events, you only look to other codes and other football competitions around the world that have centralised grand finals. It enables them to drive interest, investment and a commercial return that can be reinvested back into growing the game.

“I could easily sit here and make no decisions like this. But the clubs, the board and the executive here, we’re all here about making decisions that we think can work. We’re going to get some wrong, there’s no doubt about that. I hope this isn’t one of them.”

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