A-League coach avoids sanction despite allegedly punching a player in the face in heated training session, with club saying the incident was ‘exaggerated’
- Coach allegedly struck player in the face
- Incident happened at heated training session
- Club say the coach has no case to answer
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Perth Glory coach Ruben Zadkovich is set to face media this morning to hose down claims he was involved in an altercation with a player at the A-League club this week.
The club has released a statement to say rumours of an alleged training pitch altercation between a coach and a player were greatly exaggerated, and that no further action will be taken.
The rumour mill went into a spin on Thursday when reports emerged that a coach had been caught up in a physical altercation with an A-League Men’s player at Glory training earlier this week.
Zadkovich’s actions have been described as ‘exaggerated’ by Perth Glory and he will not face sanction
Giordano Colli of the Glory takes a corner during the round 14 A-League Men’s match between Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory
The West has reported that coach Ruben Zadkovich and player Giordano Colli were the men involved in the alleged altercation.
Channel Nine had reported that Zadkovich had punched Colli on Tuesday night at Macedonia Park during a five-a-side training session.
It was alleged that the coach and the young midfielder became involved in a ‘scuffle’ before Zadkovic then reportedly punched the 22-year-old in the face.
Glory chief executive Anthony Radich admitted that an incident did occur but said they had been exaggerated.
Glory released a statement on Thursday afternoon saying that no complaint was made internally, and that neither Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), or the club will be taking the matter any further.
‘The club regards the safety and wellbeing of its players and staff as its highest priority,’ Radich said in a statement.
‘Accordingly, I have spoken to the coach and the player allegedly involved and also consulted with both APL and PFA.
‘Based on these discussions, I have concluded that the alleged incident has been exaggerated and am satisfied that no further action is required.’
Zadkovich during his A-League playing days with the Newcastle Jets. He also played a handful of games for the Socceroos
A-League players union Professional Footballers Australia also previously confirmed that were aware of the allegations and were conducting their own investigation.
It is understood that Colli, along with several other Glory players, will look for opportunities elsewhere at the end of the A-League season.
It comes after Zadkovich had reportedly had a pre-game bust-up with new Perth Glory signings Ryan Williams and Mark Beevers.
He played down those claims at the time.
‘They [Williams and Beevers] were leading the team song there and having a right old chuckle. When you’re down the bottom, people will try and create conflict outside of our four walls,’ he said.
During his playing days, Zadkovich played for the Glory, Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets, and Derby County, in addition to the Socceroos.
As a first-year coach, he has guided Perth to ninth overall, but just seven points behind second-placed Central Coast Mariners and just four points adrift of sixth-placed Sydney.
Despite playing eight games this season and scoring one goal against Adelaide United, Colli has played just four minutes in the last six games and has been left out of the squad four of the last five games.
Perth will be back in action on Saturday night when they take on the Brisbane Roar at Kayo Stadium.
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