Poyet blasts AFC ahead of Sydney battle
Poyet's team has plenty of work to do on Thursday night at Allianz Stadium, having lost last week's quarter-final first-leg 2-0 to the impressive Sky Blues.
Not helping Jeonbuk's cause last week, according to former Chelsea and Tottenham star Poyet, was not able to play the club's home leg at its own stadium because the AFC was unhappy with the pitch.
We are one game away from the Eastern Final of the AFC Champions League Two and standing in our way is Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ⚔️A massive match awaits us on Thursday night 🔥Join us as we bid to make history 🎟️ https://t.co/V5hqxYAe2M#WeAreSydney | #ACLTwopic.twitter.com/1G2HsUxWCA
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) March 11, 2025
'I'm really looking forward to seeing the pitch of Sydney … because I wasn't able to play at home for a really unfair and stupid decision so I hope the pitch is spot on,' the 57-year-old former Uruguay international said.
'If your pitch is worse than our pitch at home, what is the outcome? Why is that fair?
'Sydney beat us and were better than us on the day. It was nothing to do with the referee but it's not 50-50 this qualification round.
'It's happening with too many things. Why? I don't know if you've been to Jeonju. You need to go Seoul and drive three hours and it was very cold.
'(The AFC official from Indonesia) probably thought `do I want someone from the AFC, the commissioner, to come here? No, I'll make a report and we play somewhere near Seoul'.
'Our pitch was in perfect condition to play.
'You know how many people were at the first leg? (The crowd was) 2500 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (Two). It's not worth it.
'If the Asian federation wants to play Champions League Two at the highest level, they (must) pay attention to what they do (and be) fair to the decisions they make or it's not worth it to play it.
'You want to play in equal situations and it's not equal.'
MD-1 work 😤#WeAreSydney#SydneyIsSkyBluepic.twitter.com/9Rr3CaXPjK
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) March 12, 2025
Poyet – whose other head coaching roles have includes stints with Brighton, Sunderland and the Greek national team – also blasted the AFC for being Wednesday's pre-match press conferences being held at Sydney's training base rather than Allianz Stadium, where Jeonbuk trained that night.
It meant extra travel the day before the game for him and one of his players.
'Someone decided who doesn't understand the rules of football to be fair,' he said.
'We're talking about the other side of football, the side I don't like. The politics, the decision makers of people who don't understand football, who don't have a clue.'
'When common sense goes against me, I use common sense. I'm not picking and choosing, I'm being honest with you.'
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