SYDNEY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A-League club Gold Coast United will continue to defy Football Federation Australia (FFA) and send their players out in a strip bearing the slogan \u201cFreedom of Speech\u201d for the remainder of the season. <\/p>\n
The FFA considered cancelling Gold Coast\u2019s match against Melbourne Victory at the weekend because of the slogan, which replaced the logo of club sponsors Hyatt on the front of the team\u2019s shirts. <\/p>\n
The row is muddied because of the ongoing war of words between outspoken club owner Clive Palmer and the FFA and its chief executive Ben Buckley. <\/p>\n
Club chief executive Clive Mensink said on Monday that the FFA had \u201coverreacted\u201d to the use of the slogan, which he said was being used to highlight the plight of refugees. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is public knowledge that Mr Palmer\u2019s group of companies are in a legal dispute with the Hyatt and, as a result, the club wasn\u2019t comfortable playing with the Hyatt brand on the playing strips,\u201d Mensink said in a statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was suggested internally that as a replacement, something non-controversial would serve as a message to the broader community. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe currently have two African refugees playing for the club who have experienced what it is like to live in a country fighting for freedom of speech. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought it was an innocent term as we all recognise in Australia that freedom of speech is something we all respect.\u201d <\/p>\n
The FFA issued a statement on Saturday saying the club, currently bottom of the 10-team league with four rounds remaining, was in \u201cmaterial breach\u201d of its Club Participation Agreement (CPA) over the use of the slogan. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe club did not have FFA approval for usage of the slogan on the playing strip and on stadium signage as required under the terms of its participation in the A-League,\u201d Buckley said. <\/p>\n
\u201cFFA directed the club not to use the slogan on the playing strip or in signage\u2026 The club declined to comply with the FFA direction and proceeded regardless.\u201d <\/p>\n
Palmer, a billionaire mining magnate, said last week that soccer was a \u201chopeless\u201d game and that he preferred rugby league, a comment which Buckley condemned as \u201coffensive to the players, coaches, administrators and volunteers who are the life and soul of Australian football\u201d. <\/p>\n
Mensink said the slogan had nothing to do with the row. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our constitutional right to embrace this message and we don\u2019t believe FFA should have the power to intervene,\u201d Mensink added. <\/p>\n
\u201cFans and the public deserve to know and have the right to freedom of speech, and it\u2019s a slogan which will keep until the end of the season and possibly next season as well.\u201d <\/p>\n
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by John O\u2019Brien) <\/p>\n
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Go here to read the rest: SYDNEY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A-League club Gold Coast United will continue to defy Football Federation Australia (FFA) and send their players out in a strip bearing the slogan \u201cFreedom of Speech\u201d for the remainder of the season. The FFA considered cancelling Gold Coast\u2019s match against Melbourne Victory at the weekend because of the slogan, which replaced the logo of club sponsors Hyatt on the front of the team\u2019s shirts. The row is muddied because of the ongoing war of words between outspoken club owner Clive Palmer and the FFA and its chief executive Ben Buckley Continue reading
\nAustralia club to defy league over 'freedom of speech'<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"