The Football Federation Australia (FFA) independent Disciplinary & Ethics Committee comprising John Marshall SC (Chair), Lachlan Gyles SC and Robert Wheatley (the Committee) convened to consider an incident referred to it, which arose in or around the 115th minute of the Westfield FFA Cup Final between Sydney FC and Adelaide United on Tuesday, 21 November 2017.
The incident involved Michael Marrone (the Player) of Adelaide United and it resulted in him receiving a direct red card.
In accordance with the Westfield FFA Cup Competition Regulations, FFA issued a disciplinary notice to the Player for engaging in serious unsporting conduct and referred the incident to the Committee for hearing and determination of the sole question of what sanction should be imposed above the minimum sanction (if any).
The minimum sanction for serious unsporting conduct is the mandatory match suspension.
The Committee determined that the Player must serve a suspension of two (2) matches, being the Mandatory Match Suspension plus one (1) additional Hyundai A-League match.
The Committee also issued a suspended sanction of a further two (2) matches to apply up until the conclusion of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season. The conditions which will trigger the suspended sanction will be confirmed in the Committee’s written judgement .
As the Player has already served his Mandatory Match Suspension in Adelaide United’s Round 8 match against Western Sydney Wanderers, the Player will be ineligible for Adelaide United’s Round 9 match against Sydney FC scheduled for Friday, 1 December.
The Player has the right to appeal the determination of the Committee. If the Player intends to do so, he must advise FFA within 7 days of receiving the written determination.
