UPDATE
Football Australia will issue Mark Rudan with a show cause notice ahead of a likely sanction following his outburst on Sunday night.
The Western Sydney Warriors coach launched a blistering attack on the officials for his side’s 4-3 loss to Macarthur during his post-match press conference before hitting out at the broader A-League and a bias against his side.
FA has now confirmed Rudan will be required to explain his actions and could face a reprimand, fine, suspension or any other sanction permitted by FA.
The brunt of Rudan’s narrative blasted the decision by referee Adam Kersey to not award Macarthur’s Valere Germain a red card in the opening half, a decision the coach says changed the game.
However, FA maintains it was not an act worthy of a red.
“The VAR did review an incident between Valère Germain (Macarthur FC) and Tom Beadling (Western Sydney Wanderers FC) in the first half, concluding that the studs of Germain’s boot did not make contact with the body of Beadling, so it was deemed not to be Violent Conduct. That being said, this was a missed yellow card against Germain, something which we have discussed with the match referee as part of Football Australia’s weekly performance review of its officials,” a statement read.
Part of Rudan’s rant also focused on a last-gasp goal to Macarthur where the ball was adjudged to have passed the goal line in desperate circumstances.
A FA statement says that VAR did check the play, which was awarded a goal on field, and found “the available angles did not conclusively show anything that would warrant the on-field decision of goal to be overturned.”
EARLIER
Western Sydney Wanderers coach Mark Rudan has put himself straight into the post-match press conference hall of fame with a stunning takedown of the A-League and officials after his side’s 4-3 loss to Macarthur on Sunday night.
The Wanderers led for much of the clash before conceding in the 93rd minute, playing with 10 men after defender Tom Beadling was handed a red card shortly after half-time.
The final goal, scored by Macarthur's Valere Germain, came in desperate circumstances with the ball adjudged to have rolled past the goal line despite the initial save from keeper Daniel Margush.
It saw Rudan steam into his press conference, telling reporters: “There won’t be too many questions, I can tell you that because I’ll be talking for a while… a bit of box office, get some life into this league.”
Rudan – who was appointed Wanderers coach in January 2022 – singled out match official Adam Kersey by name and accused him of favouritism before giving a scathing assessment of the VAR official.
He also used the opportunity to hit out at the A-League and its support of his side. Rudan is expected to cop a significant penalty for his outburst.
Read Rudan’s full account of the controversy via his press conference below:
"There is an absolute stigma attached to my football club."@wswanderersfc's Coach Marco Rudan has exploded at the @FootballAUS accredited Match Officials, after tonight's match against @mfcbulls.
— 10 Football (@10FootballAU) February 4, 2024
Here's the full press conference. #MACvWSW|@10SportAU|@10NewsFirst|@aleaguemen pic.twitter.com/XPAf2QC2jH
“The game changes on its head with a red card… I’ll start by saying there is an absolute stigma attached to my football club, it’s clear for all to see,” he began.
“You can say whatever you want, but this guy (Adam Kersey)… whatever his name is, there’s a bit of history between myself and him and he knows that very well.
“For the life of me, how (Valere) Germain stays on the pitch when he kicks out at my player in the first half, I have absolutely no idea how that is only deemed a yellow card. When it’s a retaliation it’s a clear red.
Germain clearly kicks out here… #MACvWSW pic.twitter.com/i0K4GiTKfY
— Matt Vandenberg (@M1D3V) February 4, 2024
“It happened to my players last year but when it does happen to my football club and my players, they don’t even think twice, it’s a straight red… Alex King was the VAR tonight, the message to us was not enough angles to see if the ball was over the line for the winner. Come on. And the linesman is clear and adamant that it went over the line at the same time with three or four bodies around him.
“Okay, no dramas… but the one that really angers me is the yellow card when Germain clearly kicks out and throws his studs… we’re trying to speak to the fourth official to have a look at it and he said, ‘mate, I didn’t see anything other than that’, that’s what the VAR is there for.
“But I’ll go deeper than that because when this football club was created, everyone spoke around the league in glowing fashion about the colour, the entertainment, the noise, the singing and how it was a godsend to the league.
“Then all of a sudden, whether that’s forced or unforced, the west of Sydney is a diverse and multicultural area… football in Europe and South America and all over the world when it comes to fans is on a different level.
“So everybody praised the club, praises its fans for doing that. Then some issues occur and all of a sudden, since that moment years ago, there’s been a stigma.
“Our poor fans and members have had to pay the price. A lot of people have lost trust in the league… anywhere else in the world you see fireworks, you see smoke, you see noise, it’s crazy, that’s what differentiates our game from every other code in this country.
“I’m just sick and tired of the decisions that continually go against us. I’ve shut my mouth for a long time.
“We were the cleanest team in the competition three weeks ago, least amount of yellows, least amount of fouls… then all of a sudden we get two (reds) in two weeks.
“It’s not me having a sook here, there are a lot of clubs with a good fan base… but this club brought something different to the league… but there’s something clearly wrong.
“Ever since I came into the football club you feel it even more, as an outsider watching I saw it unfold and I thought that’s quite unfair.
“I’m just defending my football club, my fans, my players who were fantastic tonight as were our fans. You take our fans away from that tonight, there’s nothing there, I’ll be honest with you. You don’t get any kind of entertainment and that’s what this club can provide.
“But the more we try to push forward as a football club and try to be as successful as it was back in the day, it seems to be no one wants to see that happen, they just don’t want to see it.
“It’s really disappointing, to the point where someone needs to say something and I believe my role at this football club allows me on this platform to have a voice and say something.
“We can talk about the game, I congratulate Macarthur for their three points, but like I said, the game could have been so much different had the referee done his job properly.
“Then you’ve got the fourth official who makes a decision on a throw-in early on the piece, who then has the help of the two linesmen, but he was right there and deems that a yellow card. The whole game changes if he actually makes the right decision and that’s disappointing.
“At the end, we walk away with nothing when we deserved to have something. I've got nothing but praise for my players, my staff and my fans and we keep on moving forward, it’s going to make us stronger and better I believe with bodies coming back.
“That’s all I’ve got to say.”