Australian Football League club Western Bulldogs "stand as a major roadblock to Melbourne Victory hosting the A-League grand final in their own city," according to the AAP.
The A-League's highest finishers "have the right to host the grand final but fixture confusion on May 17, the date of the decider, has led to an impasse between the two codes." With alternative Melbourne venues "deemed unsuitable, it's Etihad Stadium or bust for the showpiece match," and the Bulldogs are not budging. The Dogs "are scheduled to play their AFL clash with Fremantle at the Docklands venue on the same day," and President Peter Gordon "is not interested in moving the fixture to Geelong's vacant Simonds Stadium as mooted." Gordon:
"We're not moving aside for soccer. It's a home game for us and it's already been fixtured, it's a done deal, that's where we want to play it and that's where it will be played." Without a resolution, Football Federation Australia "has made clear the grand final will be played interstate."
Melbourne Victory CEO Ian Robson "hopes a deal can be struck." He said,
"There are always a number of moving pieces and parts and how that can all work together has the potential to deliver a solution" (AAP, 4/16).
