Social media has become a place for people to vent their feelings. It has given a voice to the masses, but what is hard to comprehend is when a valid issue is raised, and public opinion sides with what appears to be unfair, unjust or in fact against the rules, no one lodges an official complaint or raises the issues based on the competition rules or statutes, which are there to protect those who continue to do things the way they are intended.
A few weeks ago in the National Premier Leagues WA the Perth Glory Youth side were facing the very real possibility of relegation. With two games of the regular season to still be played they could still face relegation. They currently sit in seventh position on 26 points and a goal difference of minus four.
Two other sides are also on 26 points, Armadale and Balcatta Etna, while Sorrento and Cockburn City are on 24 and Inglewood United and Floreat Athena are on 23 points.
Faced with the possibility of relegation, something that teams face in almost every league competition in the world, rather than have these young players experience what a relegation battle is all about and it be part of their development so that they become wiser for it, the powers that be at Perth Glory opted to replace their up and coming players with contracted A-League players.
This is an issue that raised its head several years ago. It was an issue that was also raised at the time that the NPL was created.
At that time it was stated that while the NPL club could carry the same name as the A-League club it had to be a seperate entity, as the NPL competition is not officially linked to the A-League in any way. This was something that the then Perth Glory admitted at a meeting held at Ashfield SC clubrooms.
The NPL had been promoted as being the “second division” to the A-League, to satisfy issues raised by the Asian Football Confederation when Australia switched from Oceania to Asia. Of course it has never been any such thing, with no promotion or relegation; and is about to become event further removed with a proposed second division to the A-League in the offing.
If it was connected to the A-League the obvious question was how could you have a club having two teams in the same competition? The whole idea of having A-League clubs in the NPL competition has never fit. As depending on which argument is put forward an issue pops its head up to say that it can’t be the case.
The key issue is that Football Australia and the State Bodies, in this case Football West, clearly state in their statues that they are governed by the rules of FIFA.
Back in 2013 and in 2016 when Perth Glory did the exact same thing, played contracted first team squad players in the NPL, Football West said that the players held “dual registration.” (Is The Integrity of the Competition at Risk?)
Not the Footy Show read through the FIFA regulations and there was no mention of a player being allowed “dual registration;” in other words being registered to two different clubs in two different competitions at the same time.
The excuse given was that ‘the FA allows dual registration if it helps a young player’s development.’
There is an issue with this explanation, as no where does it say that in the FIFA statutes, and the FA and Football West are governed by those rules and regulations.
It is important to remember that while we all know Perth Glory as one club. The headline teams play in the APL Men’s and Women’s League competitions, and as both are professional leagues, players are registered as such. While sharing the same name all other teams play in different competitions and there is a requirement in all of those competitions that players competing much be registered with those teams.
FIFA Regulations prohibit a professional player being registered with two teams. The only way that this can legitimately happen is if the player’s original contract is cancelled and they are put out on loan and the loan club pays their wages. If this were to be the case in the NPL, and even under the current rules the players are likely to fall outside of the salary cap.
In fact Football West’s own NPL regulations state that “a player is ineligible to play if that player:
f) plays while registered for two Clubs at the same time without seeking an exemption to do so.”
Now Perth Glory may have sought such an exemption, but the question is when? Even if it was within the required deadlines there are still questions marks of a registered professional player with one club playing in a different competition.
Under Professional Player Registration Deadlines the regulations state:
“Professional Players may only be registered during the prescribed registration periods as follows and in accordance with the National Registration, Status and Transfer Regulations and the FIFA
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players:
a) Men:
i. Between 11 January 2023 and 7 February 2023;
ii. Between 21 June 2023 and 30 June 2023;
iii. As prescribed by FIFA.”
So were these players registered with the NPL side by those deadlines? If so were they released from their A-League contracts?
Not The Footy Show contacted FIFA and the AFC and was referred to The Regulations and Status of the Transfer of Players “section 5 par. 2 stipulates that a player may only be registered with one club at a time.” They also advised that this applied to all member nations, “Article 1 par. 3a) states that the above provisions are binding at national level.”
Which would tend to indicate that A-League contracted players cannot step down and play in the NPL. Which makes perfect sense.
So with such a close end to the league’s season, and with the possibility of some big name clubs facing relegation, one can see why some are upset that these players have been permitted to play, and whether they should have been allowed to or not. The CEO of Football West finds himself in a very unenvious position, with the club he made his name with, Perth Glory and the club he has had a lifelong association with in Sorrento, being both part of the relegation battle.
As written seven years ago it does undermine the integrity of the competition.
What their playing has potentially done is open a Pandora’s box, as based on the FIFA regulations, and that Australian competitions are bound by such regulations as members of FIFA, one would suspect that those clubs facing relegation could mount a legal challenge in relation to the eligibility of these players participation in recent games.
As one club official who requested to remain nameless stated “if it been one player coming back from a long term injury that would not have been so bad, but to play half a dozen, is making a mockery of the competition.”
So the conclusion of the 2023 NPL season in its final few weeks could be more interesting than normal, in more ways than one.
The clear learning from this issue is that in the off season the NPL clubs, Football West and the new owners of Perth Glory must sit down and find a way to make the highest level of competition in the state better, and benefit all concerned.
As a state the game needs a team in the National competition, the A-League. That club in turn will only survive if the local clubs, players and fans support it. In the past there has been a lot of bad blood and situations such as this do not help. Equally if the local competition improves then there is a higher chance that the Perth Glory will be able to select more local players. However, it is going to be vital that local clubs are rewarded for developing those players.
As stated when the NPL was created, the new owners may recognise that if Perth Glory is to be the pinnacle of football in this state, and it may well be far more beneficial to have its development teams play under another name and with a different strip, so that it becomes once more an honour and a privilege to wear the A-League club’s colours. An honour that is restricted to those who have earned it.
