After a lengthy review, Australian football’s most divisive policy has been overhauled.
The FFA announced on Friday that the National Club Identity Policy, which has made headlines for a range of incidents in recent years, will be replaced by a new Diversity and Inclusion Policy.
The review included consultation with the member federations, PFA, AAFC nad over 700 submissions from the community and ‘found support for change.’
“Over the past three months, we have spoken to a cross section of the football community and it was clear that the majority of our stakeholders felt it was important we acknowledged the contribution many communities across Australia have made to their clubs, whilst still promoting inclusion and diversity,” CEO David Gallop said.
The in-principle decision was made at a recent board meeting. The governing body’s media release outlined five points that will be balanced to form the basis of the new policy.
They are:
– The importance of football embracing the wider community and of clubs, as the lifeblood and shopfront of the game, being accessible, embracing and truly representative of their geographical regions
– Recognition of the heritage of clubs and the significant contribution of particular communities within the broader community to the development of individual clubs and the game as a whole
– The state of maturity of the game and its clubs and the importance of clubs reflecting the face of modern Australia
– The imperative for football as a game and its clubs more specifically to meet community standards and expectations, commit to and enact values based on tolerance, openness, diversity and inclusion
– The need for appropriate measures to ensure commitment by all parties to upholding these shared standards and values.
According to chairman Chris Nikou, the FFA will consult further with experts before finalising changes.
The NCIP had come under fire of late for a range of incidents involving some of Australia’s oldest clubs. A widely cited example saw Victorian NPL side Avondale FC ordered to cover the Italian flag on the back of their jerseys with tape.
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Fulham’s Premier League season has turned into a £118 million (A$220m) mess.
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After victory in English football’s richest game sealed their promotion to the top flight back in May, the Cottagers spent and spent … and spent in the hope of carving a long run back in the big leagues.
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But overnight the project truly descended into utter chaos as the Cottagers parted with their second manager this season – sending Premier League miracle man Claudio Ranieri packing after just 106 days and three wins at the club.
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Even the architect of sport’s most astonishing triumph was powerless to resurrect Fulham’s woes, the Italian departing with the Londoners 10 points off the pace and just 10 games to play.
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He follows his predecessor Slavisa Jokanovic out the door, just four months after the popular Serbian boss was sacked following a horror start to the season.
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So where did it all go wrong?
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We look at the big-money signings, defensive frailties and how it actually could have been even worse for the proud London club.
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BIG MONEY SIGNINGS
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Back in the Premier League and ready to flex their financial muscle, owner Shahid Kahn opened his wallet in an astonishing spending spree that saw 12 new faces brought to the club in a hectic transfer window.
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It was the first time in history that a newly promoted side had spent in excess of £100m, as the Cottagers completed deal after deal in the hope of making their mark in the top flight. According to The Mirror, their total expenditure numbered a whopping £118m.
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They shattered their transfer record three times, eventually setting it at £30m as midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa from Marseille – a player still yet to taste victory for the club across his 13 Premier League appearances. While the cash was also splashed on big money arrivals Jean Michael Seri, Alfie Mawson, and Aleksandar Mitrovic as a new era was heralded.
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Five more acquisitions on deadline day saw them blow English football’s traditional big spenders out of the water, as the world took notice.
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The spree, while aesthetically pleasing, has proven a disaster. Anguissa is still yet to register a goal or assist, Seri is considered a disappointment, while Mitrovic and Chambers are widely considered the only members of the 12-man arrival group to have actually performed consistently.
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This week saw a perfect metaphor for the club’s issues.
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Skipper Cairney revealed the club was forced to cancel a go-karting trip planned to lift morale in the squad on account of the insurance costs being too high.
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“It is hard coming to the training ground and keeping morale up,” Cairney said.
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“We did book go-karting but insurance was too high so it got cancelled.”
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DEFENSIVE FAILURE
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It’s hardly a secret that the Cottagers’ defence is the ultimate source of their on-field troubles.
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A quick glance at the ladder exposes a team that’s conceded a jaw-dropping 63 goals this season across 28 matches – leaving them with an appalling league-low goal difference of -37. A crunch of the numbers reveals that on average the Cottagers have shelled 2.25 goals every game this campaign. In fact, no team in the top four tiers of English football have conceded more goals this season than Fulham.
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After 10 games of the season, Jokanovic’s team equalled the worst ever tally for most goals conceded for that mark with 28. After his sacking, Ranieri was the man entrusted with righting the defensive chaos.
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But ultimately as the Italian went about fixing those issues, he sacrificed the players and tactics on whom the charge back to the Premier League was built.
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The likes of Tom Cairney and teen sensation Ryan Sessegnon found themselves on the outs as Ranieri swiftly got rid of his predecessor’s approach.
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SCANDAL
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If there’s one thing a struggling club doesn’t need, it’s off-field distractions.
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Unfortunately, if there’s one Fulham player who hit the headlines more frequently than others this season, it’s a player who was shipped out in January and for all the wrong reasons.
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Striker Aboubakar Kamara had two bust-ups with Mitrovic as the pair squabbled embarrassingly over who would take a penalty – eventually the former took and missed the spot kick. In the wake of that drama, Ranieri he said he ‘wanted to kill’ Kamara. Then at a club yoga session the pair got heated again.
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The striker was eventually shipped off on loan to Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor with his Fulham career effectively over.
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Not exactly the type of attention a club battling relegation wants or needs.
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IT COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN WORSE
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Sitting 19th and with just four wins to their name this season, it’s tough to think things could be even worse for Fulham – but without one player they certainly could be.
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A stat from Sky Sports which was valid as of 11 February, revealed just how important Mitrovic has been for the Cottagers this season.
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In fact, only Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been more influential in terms of goals than the Serbian.
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Mitrovic has netted 10 times in the Premier League this season, and in turn his strikes have won his team a whopping 11 points. To put that in perspective, the Cottagers only have 17 to their name.
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It cost the club an initial £22m to bring the Serbian star to the club on a permanent basis, after he hit top form in the back end of last season to help them earn promotion. Imagine how much trouble they’d be in had they not signed him.
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THE AWFUL, AWFUL RECORD
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Remarkably, this isn’t a new situation for Fulham to find themselves in.
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Almost exactly five years ago, in their most recent Premier League season before this one, similar carnage unfolded. The season began with Martin Jol in charge, before he was sacked and replaced by current Socceroos assistant Rene Meulensteen – who was sacked in February after just 75 days in the job. He was replaced by Felix Magath.
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This time, Ranieri makes way for Scott Parker on an interim basis.
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It makes for one ridiculous stat.
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Parker will become the club’s sixth manager in just 56 Premier League games. That’s less than two full seasons.
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Fulham Football Club Chairman Shahid Khan today named Scott Parker as Caretaker Manager, replacing Claudio Ranieri.
👉 https://t.co/cxx8utJdUy pic.twitter.com/3sikRtiH3I
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) February 28, 2019
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And in football, fans don’t forget.
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When Ranieri took charge, chairman Tony Khan hailed him as a ‘risk-free’ appointment.
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As the Cottagers went down to Southampton putting the final nail in the Italian’s coffin, a banner unfurled at the St Mary’s read: ‘Risk-free? Are you watching Tony Khan.’
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He’ll almost definitely have to watch his team get relegated in the coming weeks.
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