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Gold Coast Kicked out of A-League

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darkhorse

darkhorse

Darby Loudon (17)
Whilst it's not strictly rugby related, I reckon it has a potentially big impact on Rugby. If the mods want to move it then fair enough.

With my concern for rugby being so great these days, I can't but help feeling a little glad when I hear bad news about our rival codes.

Now that Big Clive is without a team would you being willing to metaphorically get into bed with him on the rebound? We are supposedly looking to expand again in the not so distant future and it may be a viable prospect with his financially backing.

The bolded quotes below concern me, but I have no problem with someone supporting more than one code.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...a-league-licence/story-e6frg7mf-1226285136612


AUSTRALIA's richest man, Frank Lowy, and mining magnate Clive Palmer are set to go head to head over Gold Coast United's axing from the A-League.​
Football Federation Australia chairman Lowy announced at a press conference today that he had withdrawn Gold Coast's licence.​
The decision follows weeks of criticism of the League, and the game in general, from Palmer.​
A "disappointed'' Lowy today said he had no alternative but to revoke the licence to protect the integrity of the competition following Palmer's "flagrant disregard'' for A-League rules.​
Palmer wasted little time responding, vowing to take legal action against the FFA and labelling Lowy as a "dictator".​
"We intend to fight this ludicrous decision by incompetent FFA in the courts. Frank Lowy is an institution who now belongs in an institution,'' Palmer posted on his Twitter account.​
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"I have the resources to go out and form a 10-team league of my own and maybe that's what I will do. If Mr Lowy wants to take on my wealth against his, let's bring it on."​
The FFA now looks set for one of the biggest and highest-profile court cases in Australian sporting history.​
Palmer, Queensland’s richest man, told The Australian Online: "I believe Frank Lowy has lost the plot. We were given no notice, we have had no hearing and we will pursue this in the high court in pursuit of natural justice.​
“We don’t know what the charge is and Frank Lowy has behaved like a dictator. This course of action should not be allowed to stand in Australia.​
“Mr Lowy will have his day in court. He will be cross-examined. We’ll seek to have the FFA’s records opened up over the multi-million salaries of their top executives.​
“Frank Lowy has started this fight and we will finish it.”​
Lowy said today that he was left with no alternative than to terminate the Gold Coast licence, leaving the A-League with just nine teams.​
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"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," he said.​
Lowy said the club had been a “spectacular failure” in connecting with the Gold Coast community.​
It followed his comments yesterday, when he attacked Palmer for his "illogical, confused and damaging" comments while slamming the team for wearing jerseys that said "Freedom of Speech" during their last game.​
FFA finally lost patience with Palmer, announcing at 2.15pm today that it had grounds to strip the billionaire of his right to run the club.​
Palmer broke the news by tweet before Lowy could announce the not-entirely-unexpected decision.​
He tweeted: "Our licence is being revoked by Frank Lowy and FFA cohorts .. I will issue detailed response shortly.''​
The A-League will continue for the rest of the season without Gold Coast, which is running last in the 10-team league and has struggled to draw crowds.​
A-League chiefs claim Gold Coast United has breached its licensing agreement in a number of areas.​
The circus surrounding Palmer and his battle with FFA came to a head on Saturday night when he defied an edict to remove unauthorised ground signage and an illegal team playing strip before his young side's 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory at Skilled Park.​
Advertising hoardings with the words "freedom of speech" were strategically placed around the ground. And United players wore jerseys, which normally carry the name of club sponsor Hyatt Coolum, with the same slogan emblazoned across the front.​
The controversy came amid speculation FFA, disappointed by the flak it has been receiving over its handling of certain matters in recent weeks, was considering changes among management staff.​
And it came as FFA attempted to drag itself back following a disastrous week last week in which Palmer was a thorn in its side.​
And questions have been raised regarding the youth development program after the Olyroos were eliminated from the Olympics for the first time in nearly 28 years.​
Unfortunately for FFA, Palmer raised the stakes with his act of defiance on Saturday night - a situation from which FFA was not prepared to back away.​
Palmer sparked a war of words with FFA last week when he told the Sunday Mail that he "doesn't even like soccer" and that "rugby league is a better game".​
He backed away from the statement during an interview on SBS television early last week, suggesting he had been taken out of context and that he "really didn't like how the game was being administered".​
The FFA hit back by declaring Palmer's comments regarding the game were "offensive and disrespectful".​
Additional reporting: Dave Lewis​
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Also
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...rom-the-a-league/story-e6frey4r-1226285100069
 
Bowside

Bowside

Peter Johnson (47)
I would let him sponsor but only if it was totally on our terms and one of those terms was that he couldnt say a thing or we got to keep all the sponsor money (which he had to pay in advance) and remove his sponsorship.

He doesn't strike me as a rugby man and I doubt he would ever agree to such constraints as it would be too damaging to his ego.
 
p.Tah

p.Tah

John Thornett (49)
No. Actually let me think about that some more... No

Look at Palmer and then compare him to Harold Mitchell. Polar opposites. Glad we have Mitchell.

I actually feel for the supporters and the players. Imagine, without warning you lose your team.
 
Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude

John Solomon (38)
Soccer loves controversy, it sells newspapers.

I can honestly say I gave soccer a fair go while living in the UK, and as much as I could enjoy watching a game, i can't give a shit about what the players do after the game, and that's how it's marketed. That and they buy and sell players like horses, and they are all sooks, and their mums didn't teach them to use their manners.

Lawrence Delagio calls it the "Durex Premiership - Because it's soft and unnecessarily expensive"
 
Badger

Badger

Bill McLean (32)
As much as his $$$ would be welcome in rugby, I hope it's a case of "thanks, but no thanks".

He's mentioned that he enjoys league so he'll probably get involved in the second Brisbane NRL team if that comes to fruition.
 
Ash

Ash

Michael Lynagh (62)
He interfered with the club too much. A club with an owner interfering like that is doomed to failure. Palmer's promoting of a 17 year old to captaincy without agreement from (and in fact, in disagreement with) the coach is one example of it.
 
waratahjesus

waratahjesus

Greg Davis (50)
I watch a fair bit of soccer, played it through my youth a fair bit. Palmer is a moron. Good riddance and the club reflects how naive it is to invest in the gold coast at this time. If there is more rugby expansion, I hope they stay well clear of it.

The gold coast RL side is financially poor, soccer is gone and there was more than Palmer being a dickhead, there was no community connection at all, both frontage club and the people. The afl has said there going to top it u for the next ten years.

I'm just not sure the area should be tapped for anything at all currently.
 
Bardon

Bardon

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Why would you want anyone like that involved in Rugby? I say just be glad there's more money is sports like soccer to keep his type far away from Rugby. One day Rugby will be an attractive proposition to guys like him and on that day I'll probably cry.
 
Melbourne Terrace

Melbourne Terrace

Darby Loudon (17)
was an absolute cock to the fans of his own team and completely killed professional football on the coast for years to come. NEVER EVER should he be allowed to have any influence on rugby in Australia as he is the type of character that will just throw his toys out of the pram when he is bored of them.
 
Rob42

Rob42

John Solomon (38)
FFA should have known it would come to this when dealing with a guy like Clive Palmer. Sure, the money's good, but he has no history of playing well with others. Watch similar things happen with Nathan Tinkler in Newcastle - both NRL and A-League.
 
AngrySeahorse

AngrySeahorse

Peter Sullivan (51)
Rob42 said:
FFA should have known it would come to this when dealing with a guy like Clive Palmer. Sure, the money's good, but he has no history of playing well with others. Watch similar things happen with Nathan Tinkler in Newcastle - both NRL and A-League.
Click to expand...

Yep, as a knights supporter also living in Newie I've had concerns about this. At first I was excited of what Tinkler is bringing to the Knights (although I would've like to have seen the money go into local Rugby naturally). However, as time has progressed, the more I hear about Tinker the more I worry this whole thing could go tits up at any moment.
 
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