A furious Marko Rudan has delivered a “box office” rant before storming out of his post-match press conference after the Western Sydney Wanderers went down in a 4-3 thriller to Macarthur on Sunday night.
The A-League coach made the serious accusation that “nobody wants to see” his club succeed after the defeat, which came on the back of a controversial stoppage-time goal was allowed despite the Wanderers’ protests.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: A-League coach blasts officials after stoppage time thriller.
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With scores equal 3-3 deep into the second half, Valere Germain secured the match-winner three minutes into added time despite the pleas from a livid Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas, who argued the ball had not crossed the line.
Losing 4-3 after Germain completed a hat-trick on Sunday night, coach Rudan lashed out at referee Adam Kersey and VAR official Alex King following the match at Campbelltown Stadium.
But his reasonings went deep, saying the “stigma” surrounding his club was a result of their fan base.
Western Sydney’s active supporter group Red and Black Bloc have been in the spotlight across the years for lighting and throwing flares during games, receiving four show cause notices from 2016 to 2018.
“The more we try to push forward as a football club and try to be as successful as it was back in the day, it seems to me as though nobody wants to see it happen,” Rudan said.
“I’m just sick and tired of the decisions that continually go against us. I shut my mouth for a long time.
“When this football club was created, everyone spoke around the league in glowing fashion — about the colour, the entertainment, the noise, the singing, and how (Western Sydney) was a godsend to the league.
“The west of Sydney is a diverse, multicultural area, made up of predominantly Europeans … so everyone praises the club, praises its fans for doing all that.
“Then some issues occur, and all of a sudden since that moment years ago, there’s been this stigma and our poor fans and members have had to pay the price.
“A lot of people have lost trust in the league because of it.”
The Wanderers were also down to 10 men after Tom Beadling was banished for a dangerous tackle on Uli Davila in the 52nd minute.
Germain had escaped being shown a card after brandishing his studs against Beadling in the 22nd minute, in what Rudan claimed was a worse foul.
“The game changed on its head with the red card and everything else,” Rudan said.
“In the last two weeks, I’ve had two players who are not synonymous for making fouls or being dirty, yet (they got) straight reds.
“For the life of me, how Germain stays on the pitch when he kicks at my player in that first half, I have absolutely no idea.
“I’m not sitting here having a sook or a whinge, whatever it might sound like that — I’m just defending my football club.”
Rudan walked into the press conference declaring that “there won’t be too many questions, I can tell you, because I’ll be talking for a while, and I’ll answer all your questions for you — you don’t have to worry about it”.
“You’ll get a bit of box office,” he added.
The 48-year-old then took two questions — the first of which he gave a straight five-word answer — before launching into his six-minute long rant.
Once he was done, Rudan ended the press conference.
“That’s all I’ve got to say,” he told reporters, before seeing himself out.