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FFA chief executive David Gallop says it was necessary to announce the appointment of professional referees now.
In a case of awkward timing, Football Federation Australia announced yesterday that it will pay three fulltime A-League referees almost $100,000each a year while it remains in dispute with the Professional Footballers Association over a collective bargaining agreement involving substantially smaller wages for the Matildas’ national women’s football team.
The Matildas, who currently earn $21,000 a year for representing their country, withdrew from a two-match tour of the US last week after agreement could not be reached on their claims for a pay rise as part of a broader claim which includes the Socceroos and A-League players.
The Matildas’ current agreement expired at the end of July so they have received no pay since then, apart from their World Cup bonuses, which the FFA said were distributed last week.
A compromise offer from the FFA to pay the Matildas $6750 for the US tour (the equivalent of two months’ pay under the FFA’s proposal of a $40,500 annual salary) was also rejected last week in favour of a collective agreement involving both male and female players.
The PFA argues that a collective agreement will enable revenue to flow more freely from the men’s game to the women’s game than it will if the women have a separate agreement. There is very little argument between the two organisations on the need to boost the Matildas’ incomes. The sticking point is in the A-League salary cap negotiations.
FFA chief executive David Gallop denied it was poor timing to announce the referees’ pay deal while the Matildas were currently earning only a fraction of that amount.
“It’s not an apples for apples comparison,’’ Gallop said.
“The A-League in particular should have moved to fulltime referees a while ago but hasn’t been able to afford to do that. The question around the Matildas, the Socceroos and the A-League wage claims is one of affordability.
“We admire our players, we respect our players.
“There’s nothing emotional about the decisions that are being taken, they are about affordability and using the game’s scarce resources in the smartest way that we can.
“We have offered the Matildas an increased pool. We tried to get them paid last week. We were told they were uncontracted workers.
“We were also told that even if their part of the arrangement was Âacceptable, until we agreed to very significant lifts in the A-League salary cap and increased payments for the Socceroos, then the offer was not going to be accepted. That’s where we are at.’’
Gallop said it was necessary to announce the appointment of professional referees now.
“We are weeks away from the A-League season,’’ he said.
“Our fans want to see the best possible referees refereeing A-League games. I think it’s a very important step for the game but one that’s been taken with caution because it is a cost.’’
He said the FFA would like to employ seven fulltime referees but could not yet afford to do so.
The three men appointed yesterday were Chris Beath, Jarred Gillett and Ben Williams, each on a two-year contract. All three referees are currently on the FIFA International Referee panel, and Williams was selected for last year’s World Cup in Brazil.
The FFA has invested an extra $300,000 in its $1.2 million referees program to cover the cost of employing the three men fulltime.
Meanwhile, the FFA and the PFA can’t even agree on when they will return to the negotiating table. FFA yesterday said the next round of discussions would start next Monday, while PFA officials said some informal talks would happen later this week.
There will need to be some conciliatory moves from both sides to achieve any progress after the dispute escalated last week
When the US tour was called off last Thursday, Gallop said on the FFA’s website that “the Matildas’ interests have been taken hostage by the PFA in the stand-off over the interests of male professional players’’, a claim the PFA denies.