Soccer: Phoenix clash in doubt as freedom slogan fatal for United

All Whites coach Ricki Herbert. Photo / Brett Phibbs

All Whites coach Ricki Herbert might not have to rush back to Wellington after last night's match against Jamaica.

Wellington Phoenix's opponent this weekend, Gold Coast United, have had their A-League licence terminated by Football Federation Australia yesterday after repeated clashes with owner Clive Palmer over the last two weeks.

The Phoenix, however, want Sunday's match to go ahead.

FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said his organisation's priority now was to explore all options to field a Gold Coast team for the remaining four matches, but this weekend's game in Wellington may come too soon.

"If we need extra time to put in place the necessary arrangements then we will consider postponing the match." The FFA said the decision had been made after "material breaches of the club participation agreement". This included playing last weekend against Melbourne Victory with an unapproved slogan on the playing shirt and advertising hoardings at Skilled Park, a decision made by mining magnate Palmer in direct contravention of an FFA direction.

That slogan, 'FREEDOM OF SPEECH', came after repeated back-and-forth between Palmer, the richest man in Queensland, and the FFA in the past fortnight, a simmering battle that led to yesterday's action.

Palmer pre-empted the announcement by five minutes, writing on his Twitter account: "Our licence is being revoked by Frank Lowy and FFA cohorts. I will issue detailed response shortly."

He followed that with a barb against Lowy and the FFA 10 minutes later: "We intend to fight this ludicrous decision by incompetent FFA in the courts. Frank Lowy is an institution who now belongs in an institution."

Palmer has had a tempestuous relationship with the FFA since the club's inception in 2008. His decision in 2009 to cap attendances at Skilled Park to 5000 in a bid to save money was greeted with a widespread backlash from the public and football authorities.

Palmer scrapped that cap two weeks later but in January, with Gold Coast bottom of the A-League and still playing in front of minimal crowds, Palmer announced he would close all but the western grandstand of Skilled Park for the remainder of the season.

But it was in the last month when Palmer's relationship with the FFA really began to deteriorate.

The breakdown was triggered by Palmer's decision to appoint 17-year-old Mitch Cooper captain for a game against Melbourne Heart with regular captain Michael Thwaite suspended. Coach Miron Bleiberg, unhappy at his owner's interference, said the captaincy was merely ceremonial and veteran defender Kristian Rees would assume responsibility once Cooper had tossed the coin.

Palmer responded by suspending Bleiberg for one week but that was soon made indefinite, causing Bleiberg to walk out on the club.

Palmer remained unrepentant, lashing out at his "insignificant" club, football as a whole and the game's governing body in an explosive interview with the Courier Mail.

"I don't even like the game. I think it's a hopeless game. Rugby league's a much better game," he said. "The club is a very small, insignificant portion of what I do. We've got over $20 billion of projects.

"If we wanted to stay [in the A-League] and they [FFA] wanted to take it [the licence] off us, they'd all be in court, and Ben Buckley would run a thousand miles. That's the reality of it. They can say what they like ... the A-League's a joke."