Football Federation Australia (FFA) has officially reprimanded Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold for two breaches of the governing body’s National Code of Conduct.
FFA found that Arnold breached section 5.1(a) [A member must not make any statement in public … that is disparaging or derogatory of a match official] and 5.1(b) [A member must not make any statement in public … that is disparaging of FFA, or any FFA statute or policy decision, without reasonable basis or justification.
The charges relate to Arnold’s comments of referee Strebre Delovski after the Sky Blues were defeated by Adelaide United 2-1 on 11 December.
Sydney fell to the Reds in the dying embers of the match after Delovski awarded the Reds a penalty for a foul committed on Dylan McGowan by Jaques Faty.
Arnold labelled the decision “criminal” and A-League chief Damien De Bohun said the “context” in which the comments were made damaged Delovski’s integrity.
“In his submission Graham asserted that the comment was not directed towards the referee … it was determined that any reasonable person who heard or read that comment would take the clear inference that the comment was referring to the awarding of a late penalty,” De Bohun said in a statement.
“If Graham was intending to express disappointment about losing a match when down to 10 players, he was not clear about that and in any event there are many other ways to convey that feeling.
“The important distinction is that a coach can criticise a decision and give reasons, but must not impugn the character of the match official making the call. It’s quite clear cut.”
FFA says it will circulate a memo to all 10 A-League reiterating both guidelines for head coaches regarding commentary of officials and the organisation’s position on the matter.
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