Former Liverpool star Craig Johnston has taken a huge swipe at the FFA in an open letter, as the fallout from last Saturday's A-League grand final continues to linger.
The 57-year-old addressed senior officials, saying that the city of Newcastle felt 'robbed, cheated and disrespected' after the VAR failed to spot Melbourne Victory player James Donachie in a clearly offside position in the lead-up to the only goal of the game, and with the subsequent apology from FFA boss Greg O'Rourke.
"Your referees, your refereeing system and your back-up plan failed spectacularly": Craig Johnston.
Photo: AAP
"Our people are different folk," said Johnston. "We are grounded in working-class roots, we are low maintenance and dont make a fuss. We are also good hosts and good losers as you have probably noticed.
"Please forgive us, but what we are not good at is waiting 10 long years for a shot at glory, only to be dudded by administrative bodies who blow into town overnight, take our ticket money and deny us a fair go at winning a grand final, with a flawed refereeing system."
A long ball from Leroy George from a free-kick sailed to the back post, where Donachie headed it back across the face of goal before Kosta Barbarouses' shot was eventually deflected in. The Victory would cling on to win, 1-0.
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Johnston grew up in Newcastle, and said that the explanation provided by the governing body – that the technology simply failed in the key moment – was not good enough.
"The only people that didnt know were the ones with the sole responsibility. You."
Glory days: Craig Johnston meets Princess Diana before the 1986 FA Cup final.
While Johnston conceded that replaying the match was impractical solution, he suggested that as a form of reparation, the FFA offered free youth registration for young football players in the Hunter for 2019, round $150 to $200 per child.
He also suggested offering a membership credit for Jets season ticket holders for next season, with the money to fund this idea coming from grand final ticket sales.
"This would be called a VAR [validated automatic renewal]. A 14-year-old Jets fan suggested this option," the letter read.
Johnston spent his youth career playing for Lake Macquarie City in the Hunter region, before moving to Middlesbrough – he would make his debut as a 17-year-old in 1977, before moving to heavyweights Liverpool in 1981, where he remained until his retirement in 1988 – winning the league title five times on Merseyside, as well as the FA Cup and European Cup. On two occaisions, he returned to Newcastle for brief loan stints with the now-defunct former NSL side, KB United.
"Mistakes do happen, we get that," he said. "But the real issue here is when the administrators at the top avoid taking the responsibility for their mistakes, and dont apologise to the affected people in the right spirit and dont even bother or attempt to put things right in some small way."
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Matt Bungard is a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald.
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