Matildas captain Clare Polkinghorne said that the team is "none the wiser" as to why Alen Stajcic was fired. GETTY IMAGES
Australia women's national football team captain Clare Polkinghorne said that the Matildas "need to move on" from the "shock sacking" of coach Alen Stajcic, even though they are "none the wiser as to why he’s been axed," according to the AAP. Speaking publicly for the first time since the announcement, Polkinghorne gave a defense of Stajcic’s "leadership and culture under his tenure." Polkinghorne assembled with her national teammates in Sydney this week, where a "series of crisis meetings were held." She said, "As players we've only been given the same information that was available at the press conferences. For legal reasons and confidentiality it's not going to be something that we're going to find out." Polkinghorne, 29, said that "she had not experienced bullying, fat-shaming, or the toxic environment" that have been cited as part of the "unacceptable culture" that allegedly manifested itself under Stajcic and, according to Soccer Australia, "required his removal." During the Matildas' meetings, team responses to Stajcic's removal "were debated." A plea to Football Federation Australia for Stajcic's return was canvassed but that has "seemingly been ruled out," with Polkinghorne conceding "that's not an option so it's not even worth talking about' (AAP, 1/25).
FINDING A REPLACEMENT: In Sydney, Tom Smithies reported two of the four experts appointed to find a new coach for the Matildas "will come from outside football," after FFA brought in an exec from the Australian Institute of Sport and the coach of the national women’s cricket team to "join the search." Part of a panel of four, alongside FFA Head of National Performance Luke Casserly and former Matilda Julie Murray, cricket coach Matthew Mott and AIS Deputy Dir, Performance, People & Teams Darlene Harrison will recommend a candidate to the FFA board to replace the sacked Stajcic. As FFA "continues to deal with the fallout" over the sacking last Sunday, officials attempted to move the narrative forward by "outlining the process for choosing his successor" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 1/23).
