Melbourne City coach Warren Joyce has come under pressure to explain his decision to omit star striker Bruno Fornaroli from their A-League clash with Brisbane.
City slumped to a 2-0 defeat against the Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday with the Uruguayan not even making the trip north.
Please explain: City boss Warren Joyce.Credit:AAP
Before the match speculation was rife the decision was a fitness issue and a sign of a rift between Joyce and the club's record goalscorer.
City toiled hard against the Roar but looked toothless in attack, putting the manager's decision not to pick Fornaroli under the microscope.
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Second-year coach Joyce, who suspended Scottish international Ross McCormack last season when City visited Brisbane, says that call was different to his recent decision to omit the Uruguayan striker.
"There was an issue last year with Ross," Joyce said.
"We just looked at the game. We've had two weeks to prepare for the game, we've trained really well. You look at the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and you try to pick a team to win a game.
"That was it."
Joyce refused to speculate on when he decided to drop the 31-year-old, who had played every match before Saturday's game.
Fornaroli also scored his first goal of the season in a 2-0 victory over Wellington in round four.
Former City and Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen was baffled by the decision.
"He's one of the best players in the league, he's certainly one of the best players at Melbourne City," he told Fox Sports before the game.
"As a manager, he's trying to send a signal to the rest of the squad, but it could also easily backfire … he's the goalscorer and he's not there. He's fit and he's at home on the sofa watching this game."
One man not upset by the omission of the dangerous City forward was Brisbane coach John Aloisi.
"It definitely surprised me," Aloisi said.
"I was pleased that he wasn't on the teamsheet, I'll tell you that."
Bruno Fornaroli was left out of the side.Credit:AAP
Fornaroli is just the latest big name at City to face Joyce's selection axe, with McCormack and Tim Cahill previously cut.
Midfielder Luke Brattan missed the Phoenix win, but returned to start against his former club on Saturday.
Joyce said Brattan had responded well to his axing and earned his place back in the squad, a situation that now confronts Fornaroli ahead of next week's home clash with Newcastle.
The Melbourne City coach was unhappy with the decision to put a guest referee in charge of Saturday night's match, after Japan's Ryuji Sato refereed the Roar's 2-0 victory.
Ryuji Sato was also in charge for Australia's friendly against Lebanon.Credit:AAP
Sato, who was also in charge for Australia's friendly against Lebanon in Sydney on Tuesday, was given the A-League match as part of an exchange program dating back to 2014.
His compatriot Jumpei Iida refereed Friday's match between Western Sydney and Newcastle at Spotless Stadium.
Joyce believed a communication error between Sato and the fourth official contributed to his team's confusion about a possible VAR review in the moments before Brisbane's first goal on Saturday.
"It's just sprung on you, I don't even know why you've got a guest referee," Joyce said.
"You've got procedures in place in the country that you're doing and then people come in, there's different dialogue from the fourth official to us that they were reviewing it, we're trying to tell the lads to concentrate but we're waiting on a review.
"There's got to be some kind of consistency."
Aloisi was a fan of Sato's cameo however, saying the exchange program between the FFA and the Japanese FA had merits.
"The players enjoyed it as well, he did let the game flow quite a bit," Aloisi said.
AAP
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