FOOTBALL Federation Australia officials hit back yesterday at what they labelled ‘‘unwarranted criticism’’ from the Newcastle Jets after the suspension of Joel Griffiths.
Griffiths was banned for two games on Monday for verbally abusing referee Ben Williams after the full-time siren in Saturday’s 2-all draw with Wanderers at Hunter Stadium.
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Jets officials decided on Tuesday not to appeal against the penalty and ordered Griffiths to have counselling at his own expense.
But chief executive Robbie Middleby was quoted in a newspaper report yesterday complaining about the judicial process, asking: ‘‘Why are clubs denied the right to make submissions on their player’s behalf prior to the [match review panel] making their recommendation for a suspension?
“And how can the [match review panel] be truly independent in this case when they have two ex-referees on their three-man panel and the only evidence they are considering is the referee’s report?”
The report said Middleby had been told there was no avenue available for Griffiths to argue his case and the FFA had knocked back a request from the Jets to arrange a different panel.
“We just believe the whole process could be a lot better and less regimented, and it’s something the FFA should at least investigate,” Middleby was quoted as saying.
In a media statement issued yesterday, the FFA reaffirmed its commitment to the match review panel system and defended the integrity of panellists after ‘‘unwarranted criticism by the Newcastle Jets’’.
“The MRP system is designed to strike a fair, sensible and proportionate balance between the demands of running a professional competition and providing clubs and players with an opportunity to be heard,” A-League boss Damien de Bohun said.
“The Hyundai A-League is one of the few leagues in which a red card can be overturned and an automatic suspension waived under the obvious-error provision.”
FFA said the match-review panel comprised one former FIFA referee, one former Socceroo who played professionally in Australia and abroad and one member who was a national league player before becoming a referee.
“The MRP is ideally composed of people with a range of football experiences who work independent of FFA,” de Bohun said.
“Any assumption as to how individual members approach cases based on whether they are a former referee, former player or a former player/referee is uninformed and has no foundation in fact.
“A club has no knowledge of the deliberation of individual panel members, nor should they because it’s an independent review that produces a collective outcome.”
For the ‘‘purpose of clarity’’, the FFA media release addressed issues the Jets raised in a five-point list.
The statement noted:
■ The match review panel ‘‘is not a judicial body’’ and ‘‘does not impose or hand down suspensions’’ but merely proposes sanctions.
■ The panel ‘‘does not rely solely on the referee’s report’’ but also reviews all available TV footage.
■ Every player ‘‘always has the right to a hearing at which he can make a submission. A player is not denied natural justice. He can choose to accept the MRP proposal or reject it and have a full hearing with legal representation before a judicial body chaired by a Senior Counsel’’.
■ In the instance that a player elects to have a full hearing before the judicial body, any decision is made ‘‘from scratch after seeing and hearing all the evidence’’.
■ Griffiths and the Jets ‘‘chose not to take this course. The club has accepted the player was at fault and in fact has decided to impose its own additional sanction’’.
■ FFA ‘‘categorically denied’’ a statement on the Jets website that said: “FFA advised [the Jets] that it was highly likely the penalty would be increased at a hearing”. Instead, Jets officials were ‘‘correctly advised that at a hearing the disciplinary committee decides any additional sanction itself and in doing so may take into account a player’s prior disciplinary record’’.
In a final broadside, FFA said the A-League disciplinary system had undergone major reviews in 2008 and 2011 and minor adjustments each year and ‘‘all clubs and the Professional Footballers Association’’ were asked for input.
‘‘In the past two seasons, the post-season review has attracted a total of four submissions from three clubs across the two years,’’ it said.
‘‘FFA will conduct its annual review at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season.’’
Middleby did not reply when offered the chance to respond to the FFA statement.
A-League referees boss Ben Wilson travelled to Newcastle yesterday to discuss any concerns the club had relating to the performance of Williams on Saturday night.
Jets striker Adam Taggart said yesterday that Griffiths was remorseful about the dramatic end to his first game since leaving the club five years ago to play in China.
‘‘He’s disappointed and he’s obviously apologised,’’ he said. ‘‘Look, we’re all emotional in the game. We were all probably thinking the same thing. I didn’t even know what was going on at the time and Joel wears his heart on his sleeve, so I think he was just emotional. Everyone gets emotional, and sometimes you just can’t control yourself, I guess.’’
