Matildas coaching debacle: FFA needs to tell fans, media the truth

Speculation of bullying, body shaming and mental disintegration surrounding the women’s national team needs to be put to rest.

David Gallop and Matildas coach

The list of lessons athletes and administrators refuse to learn is long. But chief among them is this: deception doesn’t work.

Failure to tell the fans and the media the truth about a situation, trying to pull the wool over our eyes, just makes the situation worse. Without facts, rumour, gossip and innuendo flood into the vacuum. And fans just feel treated like mugs.

This is exactly how fans of the Matildas, one of the most popular brands in Australian sport, feel following the sacking of popular coach Alen Stajcic.

Apparently there are good reasons for his sacking, apparently there were serious cultural problems in the Matildas camp, apparently it was toxic and unmanageable. But we have no idea what those issues are and the FFA is refusing to tell us.

They’re not even really telling us why they won’t tell us. Apparently it’s all down to confidentiality issues.

All of which leads to speculation and unsubstantiated reports about bullying, body shaming and mental disintegration. There are suggestions of witch hunts and vendettas. There have apparently been heated meetings and weeping players.

Matildas stars such as Sam Kerr and Lisa de Vanna have offered their support for Stajcic on social media before allegedly being warned not to speak to the media.

Stajcic’s reputation is trashed. FFA boss David Gallop, who fronted a media conference on Monday and tied himself in knots to avoid saying anything, looks foolish. The whole sport looks like a basket case.

This at a time when Australia’s soccer fans should be focusing on the United Arab Emirates, where the Socceroos have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup.

A select group of journalists and soccer insiders have apparently been briefed on why the FFA board took the decision to dismiss Stajcic. This could only be an attempt to blunt the criticism.

It appears not to have worked. The FFA needs to come clean and tell us what on earth is going on. Otherwise, Stajcic might not be the only one to emerge from this sorry saga without a job.