FFA hits back at PFA over Socceroos pay dispute

Football Federation Australia (FFA) slammed Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) for making public statements about a Socceroos pay dispute.

PFA has filed a grievance against FFA in relation to national team payments, with Ange Postecoglou’s men currently in Dubai preparing for Australia’s World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday.

But FFA chief executive David Gallop is unhappy that the matter has been dragged into the media.

“The PFA’s decision to make public statements about a confidential and independent dispute resolution process days before a FIFA World Cup qualifier is inappropriate and unnecessarily disruptive,” he said in a statement.

“The matters in question relate back to 2010, were first raised in August last year and are not material to the current qualification campaign.”

Earlier, the PFA had confirmed the grievance.

“The PFA can confirm that a grievance has been filed in accordance with the Socceroos Collective Bargaining Agreement 2011 – 2015 (CBA) against Football Federation Australia in relation to Socceroos Agreed Payments. This is a matter to be determined by an independent arbitrator,” a spokesperson said.

“The players have also exercised their rights under the CBA to have the Socceroos commercial contracts independently audited. This important CBA provision is for the purposes of validation and verification.”