Several players were shocked when the head coach Alen Stajcic was fired on January 19.
the World cup, landslagskaptenen and last Linköpingspelaren Lisa De Vanna says to the news agency AAP that the incident has affected her performance on the pitch.
– this causes a lot of pain. This is his dream job. It has been taken away from him. So any human being had been discouraged, hurt, angry, frustrated, confused. Normal feelings in that situation. I have known it also. It is still painful for many of us right now, ” she says.
one of Australia’s most successful managers were dismissed in the midst of the final preparations for this summer’s world CUP in France, is unclear. 45-year-old has led the team to the quarter finals in both the world CUP and the OLYMPICS, and ”The Matildas” is the sixth in the Fifa world rankings.
Förbundssekreteraren David Gallop was referring to the culture and the work environment around the team when the news came.
– In the last instance it is the responsibility to change the culture of the head coach. We are no longer convinced that Alen is the right person to lead the team and the staff, ” said Gallop in a statement.
low behind the action. A performed by most of the players and one of the ”Our Watch”, an organization that works with the attitudes behind the violence of men against women. According to Gallop, the situation in the team deteriorated over the last few months, but the alliance has never referred to anything concrete, because the surveys made during the anonymity.
But despite the fact that the response from the player shall be behind, several of them surprised that the coach must go.
– The last four, five years, we have created a successful environment, and received good results. It is about professional football. There are always areas to improve. You never want to stop. ”Staj” has done a lot for women’s football in Australia, he has contributed much guidance and has been a part of our success, ” says Clare Polkinghorne who share lagkaptensskapet with De Vanna, to the AAP.
with many players in the team anonymously has Sidney Morning Herald had a similar picture of support for the fired coach from the many in ”The Matildas”. The image of a coach that put pressure on the players and demanded a lot of their environment is shared by many, but most don’t see it as a problem.
“It’s just the way football is,” says one.
But other things going forward. A part talking about the ”body-shaming” of players, not from Alen Stajcic, but from the others in his team. They are said to taunting players for their weight. ”Put down the fork”, many teenage players have been told.
” We cannot accept this anymore. We are strong independent women and we don’t take it here anymore. We should never have accepted it before but we just wanted to play. Now we have voices, we have the status, ” says an anonymous source to the newspaper.
another common occurrence is homophobic comments, nor those from Stajcic, but from other leaders. Male leaders should have spoken of a ”lesbian mafia” who is looking after them, something that should have been so common that it was said so that the journalists heard. Some of the players were, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, tired of their sexual orientation were spoken of in negative terms.
There are no allegations of sexual abuse, but according to the australian ABC’s data shows the survey from the women’s organization ”Our Time” an unsustainable environment.
at the same time several of the players that they have not experienced any damaging culture in the national team, and the criticism in the media against the australian league is massive for the unclear reasons for the Alen Stajcics dismissal. He has not spoken, according to the data, because he is prevented by legal reasons.
– I get really frustrated by opinions in social media, that people have to rough you up, this is elite sport and the need to just take it, ” says ledarskapsexperten Nicki Bowman from damfotbollsorganisationen ”Women Onside” to ABC.
She points out that many players in the landslagsorganisationen are teenagers.
– the Things you say to people in that age affects a lot more than if you say them to me with 20 or 30 years of experience, ” she says.
been claims that a group of women has worked to set aside Stajcic so that he can be replaced by a woman.
” It is absolutely not correct. It is so far from the truth. I have nothing against Alen Stajcic personally. To suggest that I have orchestrated his exodus, and that I have influenced the board members is an insult. Not against me, but the whole of the board of directors, says the newly-appointed member of the board, Heather Reid to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Sunday, June 9 play ”The Matildas” their first world CUP match against Italy. Right now, nobody knows who will be their coach.
Read more: World CUP 2019 – big guide
