Sydney FC coach Patrick Kisnorbo has launched a fierce attack on critics of the club's decision to initially block Akol Akon from playing at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, accusing them of "killing the game" after Sydney reversed its stance and agreed to release the 17-year-old following an agreement with Football Australia.
Akon will now be available for selection in Australia's squad for next month's tournament in Qatar, just days after Sydney had informed Football Australia he would not be released. Kisnorbo said the club had been working behind the scenes for several weeks to reach this outcome.
Kisnorbo detailed the injury crisis that prompted Sydney's original position. An ankle injury to winger Abel Walatee and another injury to midfielder Jake Hollman had left him with a thin squad for the opening weeks of the new season. He said he spoke to Akon and explained that the situation could affect his ability to go to the World Cup because he was too important to the team.
Kisnorbo praised Australia under-17s coach Carl Veart for being "very understanding," saying he had promised both Veart and Akon that the player would be released if Sydney could find the right "solution."
That solution appears to have been found, but Kisnorbo was angered that the dispute became public while discussions were ongoing, hitting out at News Corp columnist Robbie Slater and former Football Australia technical boss Ron Smith, who described Sydney's position as a "disgrace" and "pathetic" respectively, the latter in a piece for the website Football360.
"I hear these words, and they're big words, in my opinion," Kisnorbo said. "There's a lot of people that I think talk a little bit too much ... all this talk and stuff for me is nonsense. People have got to be a bit careful and a bit wise in the words they use ... People say, 'Yeah, we want the game to do well'. Well, I think they're the ones really killing our game because it's noise and narrative without knowing facts."
A-League clubs and national duty
An agreement between Football Australia and the Australian Professional Leagues about player availability for national teams has lapsed, leaving A-League clubs able to stop players being called up for matches or tournaments that fall outside FIFA international windows, such as the U-17 World Cup.
Kisnorbo said that with A-League clubs increasingly reliant on young players, it is difficult to balance competing interests. "The A-League has changed. If we let the under-23s go today, we would lose six players," he said. "So what do you want to do, get the under-13s in? We have to find solutions. That's the way the league is at the moment."
Kisnorbo also revealed Sydney had tried to have an Australia Cup fixture moved to accommodate young striker Mathias Macallister's Australia under-20s commitments, but the request was unsuccessful. The Sky Blues ultimately allowed Macallister to play in those matches, in which the Young Socceroos failed to qualify for the U20 AFC Asian Cup, unlike other clubs that refused to release their players.
Akon has already secured a multi-million transfer to Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and has played for Australia's under-23s, while he is also being closely monitored for a Socceroos call-up by Tony Popovic.
Kisnorbo said there was nothing wrong with Sydney being reliant on a player as young as Akon, a view the player's agent Tony Rallis attributed to the club's failed attempts at foreign recruitment in recent years. "We love the kid," Kisnorbo said. "Six months ago, where was he playing? Now he's signed a deal in the MLS, and he was 16. He's 17 now ... age is not a barrier in football. If you're an important player, you're an important player. That's the way it works."
