Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou is unimpressed with the standard of the Canberra Stadium playing surface ahead of Thursday night's crucial World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan.
But Canberra Stadium officials have refuted the claims and say they haven't received any official complaint from Football Federation Australia.
The Socceroos held a training session at the ground on Tuesday night and will have a final run on Wednesday night to fine-tune their preparations.
Observers noted the playing surface on Tuesday was patchy in areas - stark contrast to the pristine conditions for the Socceroos' match in Perth in September against Bangladesh.
Postecoglou voiced his displeasure at the condition of the ground ahead of such a crucial game.
"I wasn't rapt to see it to be honest," Postecoglou said.
"We'll deal with it.
"You kind of come home ... we had a fantastic pitch in Perth, it certainly helped us."
Postecoglou said the national team expected better playing conditions when they play at home so they can make the most of their superior technical skills.
The Socceroos easily accounted for Bangladesh 5-0 before having a shock 2-0 loss away to Jordan in October.
They also encountered a less than ideal pitch in Dushanbe when they defeated Tajikistan 3-0 in September.
"We get really shocking pitches away from home, you don't control that," Postecoglou said.
"So, I'm kind of hoping we're maturing as a nation to know that the old grade five argument that it's the same for both teams isn't really the case.
"When we play at home, we should play to our conditions and to suit our style of game. And that means having a good pitch."
Territory Venues and Events general manager Liz Clarke, who as part of her role manages Canberra Stadium, said the FFA hadn't raised any concerns about the playing surface.
"The field of play is to FFA standard, it's in good condition and it's safe," Clarke said.
"There's nothing wrong with the surface of the grass at all."
The Kyrgyzstan team will have its first look at the Canberra Stadium playing surface at a training session on Wednesday night.
The Canberra Stadium playing surface was in immaculate condition when it hosted seven games of the Asian Cup in January this year.
The playing surface was voted the best in the tournament and played a role in several exciting games, including the thrilling quarter-final between Iraq and Iran, which Iraq won in a penalty shoot-out after scores were tied at 3-all.
This is the first time the Socceroos have played an international match in Canberra since 2011 when they beat Malaysia 5-0 in a friendly and the first World Cup qualifier.
The Socceroos are currently second in the group standings one point ahead of Kyrgyzstan.
The top team in each group and the four highest second-placed teams qualify for the next round.
THURSDAY: World Cup qualifier: Socceroos v Kyrgyzstan at Canberra Stadium, 8pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
Preview: Socceroos v Kyrgyzstan
The Socceroos return to Canberra for the first time since 2011 and aim to return to winning ways on their FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™ qualification journey when they face the tricky Central Asian opponent.
After the Aussies’ shock 2-0 defeat to Jordan last month, the Socceroos have little room for error against 124th-ranked Kyrgyzstan.
Aleksandr Krestinin’s side put up an impressive fight in Bishkek in June, and head to the nation’s capital with their own qualification hopes on a knife edge.
Kyrgyzstan are currently third in the group, just one point behind the Socceroos, so this is almost their last chance to stay alive in qualifying for the World Cup.
For that reason, this looms as a tricky test for the green and gold and a night of World Cup drama for the fans in the nation’s capital.
Worryingly for Socceroo boss Ange Postecoglou, there are a few injury concerns to consider when trying to come up with his starting XI.
With another qualifier against Bangladesh just five days later, Postecoglou may opt to save a couple of players who aren’t quite 100% for what will be a difficult test in Dhaka next Tuesday.
For Thursday’s game, starting XI defender Matthew Spiranovic was ruled out on Monday, while number one Mat Ryan and attacker Mat Leckie appear very long odds to play.
Ryan has had just four training sessions after returning from a two-month lay-off with a knee injury, while a respiratory illness means Leckie will only join the squad just over 24 hours before kick-off.
There’s also some doubt over left-back Jason Davidson, who is battling a calf problem which has restricted him to only light duties in training.
But even with all those injury concerns, the Socceroos have the depth and quality.
Skipper Mile Jedinak returns to bolster a midfield that oozes technical quality. His leadership in Amman was missed.
Canberra boy Tom Rogic, in-from Aaron Mooy, Mark Milligan and Massimo Luongo should ensure the home side have the bulk of possession as they seek to control the tempo.
And in attack, the likes of Tim Cahill, Tomi Juric, Nathan Burns and James Troisi are all in strong form with their clubs.
The pitch at GIO Stadium looks sensational and will suit the Socceroos fast-paced passing game much more than what they encountered on a bumpy surface in Bishkek.
The weather could be a factor, though, with storms set to hit Canberra in the build-up to the match on Thursday night.
Kyrgyzstan troubled Australia on the counter-attack in Bishkek, in particular through their wingers Mirlan Murzaev and Anton Zemlianukhin.
It’s likely to be an area they will look to exploit again, especially with some new faces likely to be in Australia’s back four.
But back on home soil, the Socceroos generally take it to a new level.
They won’t give the visitors any time to breathe in possession and – like Bangladesh experienced in Perth in September – they will look to kill the game with an early onslaught.
It should be a fascinating encounter in the nation’s capital as the Road to Russia 2018 heats up.
The Socceroos return to Canberra for the first time since 2011 and aim to return to winning ways on their FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™ qualification journey when they face the tricky Central Asian opponent.
After the Aussies’ shock 2-0 defeat to Jordan last month, the Socceroos have little room for error against 124th-ranked Kyrgyzstan.
Aleksandr Krestinin’s side put up an impressive fight in Bishkek in June, and head to the nation’s capital with their own qualification hopes on a knife edge.
Kyrgyzstan are currently third in the group, just one point behind the Socceroos, so this is almost their last chance to stay alive in qualifying for the World Cup.
For that reason, this looms as a tricky test for the green and gold and a night of World Cup drama for the fans in the nation’s capital.
Worryingly for Socceroo boss Ange Postecoglou, there are a few injury concerns to consider when trying to come up with his starting XI.
With another qualifier against Bangladesh just five days later, Postecoglou may opt to save a couple of players who aren’t quite 100% for what will be a difficult test in Dhaka next Tuesday.
For Thursday’s game, starting XI defender Matthew Spiranovic was ruled out on Monday, while number one Mat Ryan and attacker Mat Leckie appear very long odds to play.
Ryan has had just four training sessions after returning from a two-month lay-off with a knee injury, while a respiratory illness means Leckie will only join the squad just over 24 hours before kick-off.
There’s also some doubt over left-back Jason Davidson, who is battling a calf problem which has restricted him to only light duties in training.
But even with all those injury concerns, the Socceroos have the depth and quality.
Skipper Mile Jedinak returns to bolster a midfield that oozes technical quality. His leadership in Amman was missed.
Canberra boy Tom Rogic, in-from Aaron Mooy, Mark Milligan and Massimo Luongo should ensure the home side have the bulk of possession as they seek to control the tempo.
And in attack, the likes of Tim Cahill, Tomi Juric, Nathan Burns and James Troisi are all in strong form with their clubs.
The pitch at GIO Stadium looks sensational and will suit the Socceroos fast-paced passing game much more than what they encountered on a bumpy surface in Bishkek.
The weather could be a factor, though, with storms set to hit Canberra in the build-up to the match on Thursday night.
Kyrgyzstan troubled Australia on the counter-attack in Bishkek, in particular through their wingers Mirlan Murzaev and Anton Zemlianukhin.
It’s likely to be an area they will look to exploit again, especially with some new faces likely to be in Australia’s back four.
But back on home soil, the Socceroos generally take it to a new level.
They won’t give the visitors any time to breathe in possession and – like Bangladesh experienced in Perth in September – they will look to kill the game with an early onslaught.
It should be a fascinating encounter in the nation’s capital as the Road to Russia 2018 heats up.
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Perth Glory fuming at the way FFA Cup final was organised
The fallout from the FFA Cup final continues, with Perth Glory taking the game's governing body to task not just for playing the decider in Melbourne but for letting their hosts turn the showpiece match into a "Victory home game" when it was supposed to be staged in as neutral a venue as possible.
Glory are angry that their proposal to play the game in WA was turned down – they feel that the FFA never seriously considered it – and believe that with proper promotion the gate would have been higher in WA than it was in Melbourne, where a crowd of just over 15,000 turned up to watch Victory win 2-0.
In a letter to the FFA obtained by Fairfax Media, Glory chief executive Peter Filopoulos says the governing body dropped the ball over its decision to stage the game in the Victorian capital, a move many outsiders saw as a grab for cash on the assumption that Victory supporters would shell out for the tickets, regardless of how expensive they were. In the end they didn't, with the game's governing body attracting a torrent of criticism for pricing match tickets at a high of $80 and a low of $40.
Filopoulos says the FFA needs to think about more than simple "commercial opportunities" when deciding venues for such games.
"It was a missed opportunity to engage and re-engage a strong football community in WA over a city which is well accommodated by two A-League teams and hosted an A-League grand final only a matter of months ago," said Filopoulos, who pointed out that Perth attracted 19,000 fans to nib Stadium for the Socceroos match against Bangladesh – hardly a top-drawer attraction – in the World Cup qualifier in September.
"It is clear that what wasn't taken into consideration in your decision to host the final in Melbourne was (1) ticket pricing and (2) the financial fatigue of consumers on the back-end of a busy spring racing carnival week in Melbourne. Perth would have provided a better option as a venue clean of any competition entertainment options provided the ticket pricing was thought through more carefully.
"In our view, your venue selection criteria is skewed towards the larger clubs and cities and other considerations should also be given weighting other than just 'commercial outcomes'."
Glory, who also reached the final a year earlier and had to play in Adelaide (where they also lost), were also upset that there appeared to be little attempt to present AAMI Park as a neutral venue.
Although Melbourne was the host city, Glory pointed out, this should not have been a Victory home game but an FFA-run event.
"Our fans were shunted in a corner of a stadium like any other 'away game' and at one stage even had the big FFA Cup balloon hovering in front of them so they couldn't see the teams walk out.
"Melbourne Victory fans were provided with their normal active zone seating, North End and South End. Hardly a neutral venue presentation.
"There was no equality shown in deciding dressing rooms, benches, training facility access etc. We tried in vain to access the gym at the venue pre and post-game and permission was withheld by Melbourne Victory.
"Who held the booking to the venue for the FFA Cup final, Victory or FFA? Melbourne Victory were allocated their normal change rooms without consideration to 'flip the coin' on all aspects of the venue presentation and access.
"In our view, if FFA held the booking at AAMI Park, all facilities should have been given equal access and due consideration, including training facilities. In fact, Melbourne Victory's vendor for sports presentation was also running the sports presentation on the night."
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