Chris Nikou, the Chairman of the Football Federation Australia (FFA) said on Monday: 鈥淭he FFA鈥檚 Board notes Mr Stajcic鈥檚 comments this morning. We disagree with many of his assertions and were surprised by a number of his comments.
"Indeed Mr Stajcic, by his own admission and in the presence of an FFA lawyer and the FFA CEO David Gallop, said that the team environment was 鈥榙ysfunctional鈥 and was 鈥榓lways going to be this way鈥. In those circumstances, we decided to act in time to put the team鈥檚 FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup campaign back on track. It鈥檚 the Board鈥檚 duty to make these decisions.
鈥淲e have been 100% focused on the immediate and long-term well-being of our team and staff. Our decision to act was driven out of care and concern for our players and people. It was and remains our sole motivation. Any suggestions to the contrary are incorrect.
鈥淣othing Mr Stajcic said today changes the facts, that built up over time, that informed the FFA鈥檚 decision to legally terminate his employment as Coach of the Matildas. The FFA reached a unanimous view that Mr Stajcic was no longer the right person to enable the Matildas to perform at their best - on and off the pitch.
"Coaching contracts generally contain provisions to deal with situations where the Board determines there needs to be a change of coach. They do so by providing for a pre-agreed payment to be made in lieu of notice which is what occurred here.
David Gallop, FFA Chief Executive Officer said: 鈥淲e are not going to get into a point by point debate that further distracts the team. Mr Stajcic knows that the team environment, contrary to today鈥檚 comments, was not satisfactory.
"A change was needed. We are also mindful that the people who participated in the review processes, including the surveys and other information gathered, did so on a confidential basis. We will not breach those commitments to players and staff.
鈥淲e appreciate and acknowledge Mr Stajcics鈥 best wishes for the team and the players and it was never our intent to cause him or his family distress. It was a decision based on the best outcome for the players and staff.
鈥淥ur focus is on the recruitment of the new coach of the Matildas. We will be announcing the new coach in the coming weeks.鈥
