Tensions rise between Mariners and
Sydney FC as Bojic departs
by DOMINIC BOSSI - 25/05/13, 3:00 AM
Central Coast Mariners are fuming over the manner in
which defender Pedj Bojic departed the club, and have
accused Sydney FC of making an approach for the
player while he was still under contract.
The Mariners granted Bojic his request to be released
from the final year of his deal on Friday morning after
he expressed his desire to play in Sydney, where he has
other work commitments.
Coach Graham Arnold was not going to stand in his
player's way but is seething after talks took place
between Bojic's representatives and Sydney FC while
the defender was still contracted and preparing for their
Asian Champions League knockout game.
Arnold said he agreed to release Bojic during the off-
season to avoid disrupting his team's performance, and
requested that he delay all talks with other clubs until
he was released. The Mariners boss and the club are
''hurt'' by the alleged contract negotiations between
Bojic and Sydney FC.
''I was disappointed with the way it came down in the
end. Sydney can say they weren't talking to him, well
that's not true because they were talking to him for
three or four weeks … they didn't leave discussions
until after the ACL like I asked because of the long off-
season,'' Arnold said.
''All I asked [is] that the club be respected, I be
respected and the team be respected and for it to be
done after the ACL, not for him to be bothered. The
player admitted to me after the game [against
Evergrande on May 15] that his brain was rattled by
everything that was going on about it.''
Sydney FC confirmed they spoke with Bojic's agent to
discuss a potential move but denied having spoken
directly to the player while he was contracted to the
Mariners. Sydney's chief executive, Tony Pignata, said
he was approached by Bojic's agent, Lou Sticca, and
discussed the possibility of signing Bojic but never held
any formal talks with the player or discussed personal
terms. ''If you mean by talking to his agent, as I said, a
few weeks ago we did. I'm not going to deny that.
Actually physically talking to Pedj? No.'' Pignata said.
''Nothing ever with Pedj, it's always been with his
manager. The only time we've spoken about Pedj was
via his player agent. That's it.''
Since signing for the Mariners in 2008, Bojic has
balanced his personal training business based in
Sydney with his A-League duties, and revealed he could
no longer manage the constant travel between Sydney
and Gosford. Arnold said he understood the player's
position, and was prepared to release Bojic on
''compassionate grounds'' during the off-season. He
said that the nature of his departure and the alleged
approach by Sydney FC disrupted the performance of
the player during the first-leg knockout match against
Evergrande and threatened to derail the focus of his
team.
''The player admitted to me on the Friday or Saturday
after when I spoke to him, and basically I went off my
brain at him a bit because I didn't like the way it was
handled in the last few days and it hurt our team,''
Arnold said. ''For me, the team is the most important
thing. The team overall, we got let down. I don't blame
Pedj that much, I blame Sydney FC.''
Bojic was dropped for the second-leg of the tie in China
after Arnold lost faith in the player due to the
discussions with the Sky Blues.
''I told Pedj, this is really hard for me deal with,'' Arnold
said. ''Let's make it clear, the reason he has been
released is because he's agreed to a deal with Sydney
FC.''
smh.com.au/sport/football/tensions-rise-between-mariners-and-sydney-fc-as-bojic-departs-20130524-2k6mh.html
Good stuff!
