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Brisbane Roar boss lashes Sydney hub call

The A-League is facing problems getting players back on the park.

The A-League is facing problems getting players back on the park. Photo: AAP

Brisbane boss David Pourre says Queenslanders should be “incensed” by the A-League’s decision to shun the state and play the bulk of the remaining season in New South Wales.

The Roar chief executive lashed out in a Facebook post on Saturday morning after FFA boss James Johnson confirmed on Friday that, apart from a run of Melbourne derbies, the remainder of the season would play out in a NSW isolation hub.

It means Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Wellington Phoenix will all have to base themselves in NSW for up to five weeks to play out the season.

Pourre claimed the decision was rushed and close-minded after he had been in the midst of planning for some, if not all, remaining 32 games to be played in Queensland.

“Let me just say how disappointed I am about this,” he wrote.

“I was informed that information about medical protocols were forthcoming on Monday 1st June so that I could position them with the appropriate health representatives in QLD.

“So much for due process and having options to consider; one would think that during this time we open our minds to all possibilities for the best interests of all players, all coaches, all administrators, extended employees and above all else, the game – not just NSW.”

The remaining 32 games are expected to be played over a 36-day period in July and August, with Robbie Fowler’s Roar fourth and one of the competition’s form sides before the shutdown.

“This is not about the clubs based in NSW, this is about the best opportunity,” Pourre said.

“How would one know what that is when we limit the opportunity to one state?

“Football fans in Queensland and more broadly, lovers of our great state should be incensed by this decision.”

-AAP

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