Soccer: Call for inquiry into Alen Stajcic sacking

Football Federation Australia is coming under continuing pressure to sort out the drama over the sacking of Alen Stajcic

Matildas coach Alen Stajcic, whose sacking has sparked a crisis in Australian soccer

Football Federation Australia is coming under continuing pressure to sort out the drama over the sacking of Matildas coach Alen Stajcic, with the Association of Australian Football Clubs joining calls for the sport’s congress to insist on an independent inquiry.

It comes after Australian women’s cricketer Ellyse Perry, one of the most respected and influential sportspeople in the country, threw her considerable weight behind Stajcic.

The controversy also took another twist yesterday with Matildas goalkeeping coach Paul Jones handing in his resignation in support of Stajcic.

He is the third member of the staff to have resigned since Stajcic was sacked last Saturday.

The Weekend Australian also understands that, aside from resignations, the rest of the Matildas staff have been told there will be no sackings and that they will go through to the World Cup finals in France.

Perry, who played under Stajcic with the NSW Institute of Sport and Sydney FC in the W-League, had no hesitation in declaring him “one of the best coaches of any sport” she has come across.

Perry said she could not comment regarding the current Matildas environment, but was happy to talk about a man who has had a considerable influence on her.

“It’s 100 per cent not my place to have any input on what’s happening with the Matildas environment,” Perry said.

“But my 15 years of interaction with Alen as a coach was wholly positive.

“He is one of the best coaches from any sport that I have come across in terms of his ability to draw the absolute best out of players, both in a training and match day environment.

“He hangs his hat on being a really hard taskmaster and someone that demands the best of a player, but in no way did I ever see that cross the line in anything other than expecting high standards of players, male or female.

“Without a doubt during my time with Alen, it was the hardest I have ever worked as an athlete.

“It helped put in place some very solid principles for me in terms of making the most of every training session.

“There were very high standards that he expected from everyone in his squad. I have taken that with me everywhere I go.

“One of the biggest things I remember from working under Staj is that no one in the group, whether player or staff member, was more dedicated to the cause of women’s football than him and when you have a coach like that who absolutely puts everything into it, morning, noon and night, it’s hard not to want to play for that person.”

Perry played 20 games for Sydney FC between 2012 and 2016 and 18 games for the Matildas from 2007 before being forced to choose cricket ahead of the world game.

Perry, 28, praised Stajcic for his contribution to women’s football.

“It is incredible what he has done for the women’s game,” she said.

“He has overseen a huge amount of development and transition to what is now one of the best teams in the world in women’s football, one of the most popular teams on the Australian sporting landscape and one of the best performing national teams in the country.”

Meanwhile, AAFC chairman Rabieh Krayem wrote that the member clubs of AAFC were “dismayed” at the way the Stajcic sacking had played out.

“Of course, we cannot comment on the decision taken to dismiss Mr Stajcic — not least because the members of the football community have not been offered a proper reason,” Krayem said. “However, we can comment on the way in which it was done, the lack of transparency around the decision, the abysmal communication around it, and the actions of the deputy chairman of the FFA board in sending messages and/or private tweets to individuals … and also giving interviews that could well be considered defamatory to Mr Stajcic.” The AAFC said the congress should exercise their responsibility to protect the reputation of football.

Krayem wrote: “You put the current board in place. You must now act on behalf of the football community to insist on a proper independent investigation of the issues; not just related to the dismissal of Mr Stajcic, but the broader issues implicit in his dismissal concerning the management and operations of the women’s game in Australia.”