‘Embarrassing’: Roar rage as tunnel fallout continues
Sebastian Tan |
Brisbane captain Jay O’Shea has weighed in on the ugly fallout between Central Coast and the Roar, calling comments made by the Mariners interim coach Warren Moon “embarrassing”.
O’Shea fronted a press conference on Friday, becoming the first Roar figure to speak publicly since an alleged halftime tunnel stoush marred the club’s 2-1 victory over the Mariners on Wednesday night.
In a post-match interview, Moon called the altercation a “disgrace” and “embarrassment” while claiming police were called.
The Roar quickly rejected Moon’s claims of police involvement, stating police were already at the venue as part of routine operations, and that no conduct by Brisbane required police to step in.
O’Shea argued Moon’s comments were “blown out of proportion” and that the Roar were surprised by what he said.
“I’ve got 10-year-old twin boys at home who throw more punches … than what I saw in that tunnel. To be honest with you, it’s actually embarrassing what he said,” O’Shea said.
“I would say even the Central Coast Mariners players were surprised by the comments, to be honest.
“It was made out like there was police called and everything. I don’t know what was said there, but I think the club is dealing with that now.”
Brisbane sought legal advice on Thursday and will send a formal letter to Moon on Friday, a club source confirmed.
Wednesday’s altercation came after Roar coach Michael Valkanis was handed a red card for two bookable offences in first-half stoppage time.
O’Shea insists the spat was “nothing”.
“A lot of stuff came out that I don’t even remember happening. To be honest, it was nothing more than what goes on all the time on the football pitch,” he said.
“It was nothing more than words in the tunnel.
“There was no contact made, nothing like that. It was a heated conversation … which happens quite often.
“Volunteers shouldn’t have been able to see what was going on. It was literally an argument.”
The A-League is investigating the issue at its regular match review panel meeting on Friday.
Valkanis was given a one-game suspension for his indirect red card after a yellow card was issued for his antics on the sidelines, and another was given after he ironically applauded referee Alex King upon receiving the first yellow.
No sanctions were placed on Moon.
The suspension means Valkanis will miss Saturday’s clash with the Wellington Phoenix, whose head coach Giancarlo Italiano joked he is going to buy his players boxing gloves.
“We need to not play into the emotion of a team that is going to be aggressive and (possibly) try to foul us,” Italiano said.
“I’m not going into the game trying to match their aggression because I think we’ll lose that game.”
AAP
