Australia Football Boss Ben Buckley Tells Melbourne Victory To Stop Moaning

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley has told Melbourne Victory to stop complaining about fixture congestion and concentrate on football.

After two losses in two Asian Champions League games, Melbourne boss Ernie Merrick has declared that the team’s schedule is working against them.

Two days after facing Sydney, the A-league team then lost 2-0 at home to South Korea’s Seongnam Chunma.

"They should stop complaining about it and just play the games," Buckley told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"The rules and regulations for the Asian Champions League are set well in advance, the timetable is drawn up by the Asian Football Confederation and everyone knows when the matches are.

"There are 46 leagues in the AFC and things have to be done to accommodate all those leagues and all the participating clubs. They can't make exceptions for one team.

"We already moved the first leg of the A-League major semi-final for Victory, allowing them to play Sydney on the Thursday night [February 18] so they could travel to China for their first ACL game.

"That gave them a four-day break after playing Sydney on the previous Sunday in the last game of the home and away season.

"We would have given them a five-day break but their home ground [Etihad Stadium] was not available on the Friday.

"Teams from other countries seem to be able to juggle their timetables. We know it is difficult and not ideal, but that is the situation."