A Lowy blow as Clive Palmer pays the penalty in billionaires' shootout

AUSTRALIAN soccer has descended into a billionaires' footbrawl between shopping centre king Frank Lowy and mining magnate Clive Palmer.

United CEO Clive Palmer

AUSTRALIAN soccer has descended into a billionaires' footbrawl between shopping centre king Frank Lowy and mining magnate Clive Palmer after the sport's governing body booted Mr Palmer's Gold Coast-based club out of the A-League.

The notably litigious Mr Palmer said Mr Lowy was "an institution who now belongs in an institution", and threatened legal action to keep his side in the national competition.

Mr Lowy hit back, accusing Mr Palmer of a "total lack of respect" for a game that, he said, was loved by millions of Australians.

What started as a verbal altercation between two of the country's richest men has escalated into a battle for control of domestic soccer, pitting larger-than-life Mr Palmer, with an estimated worth of $5.05 billion according to the BRW rich list, against the establishment figure of Mr Lowy and his fortune valued at $4.68bn.

Football Federation Australia, which Mr Lowy chairs, yesterday lowered the boom on Gold Coast United, last on the ladder and struggling to attract fans, and issued notice that its licence was to be revoked over breaches of the club participation agreement.

The issue that brought to a head the tensions was Mr Palmer's defiance of an FFA directive to remove the slogan "Freedom of Speech" from his players' jerseys and signage at their home ground on the Gold Coast.

The logo had been introduced by the burly Queenslander to highlight his claims that FFA was trying to gag him after he criticised its running of the A-League and the business model imposed on clubs. A second franchise owner, former coalmine owner and businessman Nathan Tinkler, complained he had been overcharged when he paid $5 million for the Newcastle Jets licence.

Mr Lowy insisted the action against Gold Coast United was to protect the wider interests of the A-League.

"We can't let anybody thumb their noses at us, saying 'We're going to do what we want to do, but I want to stay'," he told a news conference in Sydney.

Mr Palmer had beaten him to the punch by tweeting the news of the licence termination before Mr Lowy could front the cameras.

Mr Palmer followed up by announcing on Twitter: "We intend to fight this ludicrous decision by incompetent FFA in the courts. Frank Lowy is an institution who now belongs in an institution."

The FFA boss said the "material breach" of the Gold Coast players turning out on Saturday in the banned strip was compounded by their owner's insistence that the Freedom of Speech logo would stay.

"This behaviour came on top of public comments that displayed a total lack of respect for football and the millions of Australians who love the game," Mr Lowy said. "Such disrespectful behaviour, a flagrant disregard for the rules and a stated intent to continue breaking the rules made for an intolerable situation.

"As custodians of the game, we had to act to protect the integrity of the Hyundai A-League on behalf of the other nine clubs, players, coaches and, most importantly, the fans."

Mr Lowy dismissed the court action flagged by Mr Palmer, saying FFA had "rock-solid legal advice" that it had been entitled to pull his club's licence.

"I tried to talk to him but I couldn't," Mr Lowy said. "But we can't be in this limbo where we are now."

Mr Palmer's deal with FFA gave him another two years on the Gold Coast United licence. After a reasonably bright start under his ownership, the club endured a miserable season this year and is currently bottom of the 10-side A-league, having recently chalked up a near all-time low game attendance for the A-League of just 1141. Its scheduled game in New Zealand this weekend against the Phoenix in Wellington may be postponed.

FFA chief executive Ben Buckley accused Mr Palmer of trying to manufacture an excuse to fold the club.

Additional reporting: AAP