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ABC News
10-08-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Melbourne fans express disappointment after Western United A-League licence withdrawal
Western United fans have expressed their disappointment after the team was stripped of its A-League licence late last week, but hold hope that an appeal would be successful. Football Australia announced the "regrettable" decision on Friday, saying the club did not meet the criteria required to be granted a licence for Australia's professional soccer league. The beleaguered Victorian club has faced financial issues since claiming the 2021/2022 A-League Men's title, having been served breach notices earlier this year over unpaid wages and superannuation. The club says it plans to appeal Football Australia's decision, but if the cancellation goes ahead, Western United's men's and women's teams will be booted from the A-League. Based in Tarneit in Melbourne's west, Western United Football Club prides itself on representing soccer fans from the west of Victoria, including 13-year-old Lucas Playford. He plays for Tarneit United Soccer Club, one of the many grassroots clubs in the western suburbs that has a partnership with Western United. "I hope they can get their licence back so they can start up again and hopefully I can play for them," he said. Mohammad Aamiruddin plays for Tarneit United's under-16s, and said he felt disappointed by the news. He said playing for Western United would be "a dream come true". "It gives the people in the western suburbs a chance to make it to high levels," he said. Michael Jenko has been a member of Western United for three years, and his son plays for Tarneit United. While he said he was sad and shocked, he was optimistic the club's appeal would succeed. "It's the only professional football club to play games in the western suburbs," he said. "It'd be a missed opportunity for all the families here to be a part of something special. "I think the A-League should do everything they can [to save it]." Nyx Ahmed has also been supporting the club for a few years, and said her son currently plays with the Western United Academy — an elite pathway for talented young players. "They mean so much to us, especially that they're our local club," she said. "It's going to be a big loss for us." Daniel Hoogstra is the chair of the Western United fan group, and said a lot of fans were "heartbroken". He said if the club's licence was cancelled, it would likely fold, which would limit professional opportunities for young local footballers. "I think for the broader western Melbourne community, this is really going to affect their pathways, potentially playing professional football for their local club and going on and becoming Socceroos and Matildas." "Save the west, save Western United … this is an investment into the future of Australian football." The licence cancellation has put plans in doubt for a 15,000-seat soccer stadium in Melbourne's west — one of Australia's fastest growing areas. The Wyndham Stadium Precinct is a joint proposal between the Wyndham City Council, Western Melbourne Group — which owns Western United — and a group of investors. The project plans to transform a 63-hectare site along Sayers Rd in Tarneit into a sports, entertainment, business and residential precinct. The centrepiece of the plan is a 15,000 capacity soccer stadium, which will become the home ground for Western United. The club's home is currently on this parcel of land, in a recently completed development called Ironbark Fields, which includes three pitches and a pavilion that seats 5,000 spectators. Wyndham City Council corporate services director Mark Rossiter said while the licence cancellation was "disappointing", the council remained committed to the larger plan. "We understand the club still has some appeal options and Wyndham will use that time to consider what this means for our partnership with Western Melbourne Group," he said. "We continue to believe this is a unique initiative that has the potential to unlock an extraordinary level of public value, and we remain committed to realising this vision." Mr Rossiter said council and ratepayers were "completely protected" by the "robust commercial and financial contracts" that were in place between them and Western Melbourne Group. "Land earmarked for the Wyndham Stadium Precinct — including Ironbark Fields — is owned entirely by Wyndham City Council," he said. "No land has been gifted or sold to Western Melbourne Group as part of this partnership." Mr Hoogstra said if Western United won its appeal and kept its A-League licence, it needed to build the 15,000-seat stadium to survive. "Building the stadium unlocks the land all around for development and sale, and that's really important for the club to be financially sustainable going forward," he said. Mr Hoogstra also said the club needed to finalise its ownership agreement. In May, Western United struck an agreement with KAM Melbourne — a subsidiary of American group KAM Sports — which would see the company get a controlling stake in the club. However, the agreement is yet to be finalised. The club has until the end of the week to appeal Football Australia's decision.
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
A-League club fighting for survival after being stripped of men's and women's licences following FIFA ban
Defiant Western United have vowed to fight the stripping of their A-Leagues licence as the embattled club stands on the brink of folding. Football Australia on Friday confirmed United would have their licence withdrawn as the current ownership were unable to satisfy the financial criteria required to maintain it. The news, which leaves players and staff in limbo, comes just three years after United's first A-League Men championship. United have been in financial turmoil for months, with players and staff paid late in April, May and June while superannuation payments were also delayed. United, based in Tarneit, in Melbourne's western suburbs, have also been unable to register players due to a FIFA ban related to an ongoing dispute with former striker Aleksandar Prijovic. That ban meant new signing Jaiden Kucharski and captain Ben Garuccio could not be registered in time to play in United's Australia Cup round of 32 loss to Sydney FC. Western United Football Club is bitterly disappointed by today's decision by Football Australia and the FIB and will be exercising its right to appeal immediately, with confidence of a positive outcome. Full Club Statement: — Western United FC (@wufcofficial) August 8, 2025 The club, led by chairman Jason Sourasis, had hoped their issues would be solved by a planned takeover by American group KAM Sports, which was announced in May - but that is yet to be completed. Football Australia's First Instance Board (FIB), an independent body responsible for club licensing, met on Thursday. A Football Australia (FA) spokesperson said the FIB had: 'determined that Western United FC has failed to meet the criteria required to be granted an A-League license. 'As such Western United FC's license has been withdrawn, effective immediately. 'Western United FC can appeal this decision to the Appeals Body established under the regulations on certain grounds outlined in the regulations. 'This outcome, while regrettable, reflects Football Australia's ongoing commitment to upholding the integrity, stability, and fairness of competitions for all clubs, players, and stakeholders.' United responded on Friday, confirming they would immediately appeal the decision. 'Western United Football Club is bitterly disappointed by the decision taken by Football Australia (FA) and the First Instance Body (FIB) today,' United said in a statement. 'The club will be exercising its right to appeal the decision immediately, with confidence of a positive outcome as the sale of the club and injection of capital from KAM Melbourne continues to progress. 'We wish to assure every single member, supporter and the broader Australian football public that we will fight for our club with the same spirit, belief and resilience that has defined us from the very beginning. 'We will continue to stand together as we have done in the face of adversity in the past, and we will exhaust every avenue to continue being able to represent our community with pride. 'As this is a regulatory process, the club will be making no further comment at this time.' Championship-winning coach and Socceroos great John Aloisi signed a new two-year deal in July. It is also unclear what the decision means for players, who are receiving support from the players' union, Professional Footballers (the PFA). United's men's players are in pre-season while it is the off-season for ALW players. 'We have communicated directly with all players affected by this decision and will continue to do so as this matter progresses,' a PFA spokesperson said in a statement. United have experienced a turbulent existence since they were granted an expansion licence in 2018 - beating several other bids - and entered the league ahead of the 2019-20 season. Their bid was successful largely based on Western Melbourne Group's commitment to build a purpose-built stadium in Tarneit. That project was delayed by several years, with the club playing games in Geelong, Ballarat, Footscray and Tasmania, before a far smaller training ground, Ironbark Fields, was constructed. Despite the setbacks, Aloisi was able to lead the club to their first ALM championship in 2021-22 while the ALW team reached the grand final in their inaugural season the following year. 'We've been advised by Football Australia on the determination by FIB to withdraw Western United's conditional licence,' APL executive chairman Stephen Conroy said in a statement.
Daily Mail
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Wayne Carey reveals his embarrassing new nickname in the wake of viral 'toilet tryst' video
North Melbourne great Wayne Carey has revealed that he has been given a new nickname following his viral 'toilet tryst' saga. On Wednesday evening, the 54-year-old was speaking at Hotel 520 in Tarneit, where he made light of a video that appeared to show him following a woman out of a bathroom. A seething Carey appeared on Sam Newman's You Cannot Be Serious podcast last week to admit he was seething at the two individuals who had filmed him leaving the bathroom at the Toorak Cellars bar in Amadale last week. He has since stated that he will be seeking legal advice on the matter and that the police had been notified. However, Carey cut a more jovial figure when pressed on the matter when speaking in front of an audience with footy broadcaster Brian Taylor. When Taylor asked Carey what he'd been upto this week, the former Kangaroos premiership winner said: 'Bugger all BT... another quiet week.' He then cracked a light-hearted joke while revealing what people have dubbed him online. 'If I go to the toilet tonight, please no one follow,' he said. 'I've got a new nickname: Toilet Duck.' Carey, is affectionately called Duck by his friends, including Newman. Meanwhile, the nickname 'Toilet Duck' appears to have originated from a footy fan forum on Reddit. It is a play on the name of the US toilet cleaning brand, Toilet Duck. The brand's bleach bottles typically come with a neck that is shaped like that of a duck's. In the viral video clip, a woman, who has now been identified as Kate Aston, a marketing and communications executive from Melbourne, is seen leaving the bathroom at the Toorak Cellars about 20 seconds before Carey is seen leaving the toilets while taking a phone call. A voice behind the camera can be heard saying: 'She looks embarrassed.' Another adds: 'What's he doing in there?' Carey though fired up at the two individuals who took the video. He branded their clandestine act 's*** shaming' and 'cyberbullying'. 'You talk about vile and disgusting, what they've done and who they have affected by a few sh**s and giggles drinking their chardonnay, sitting up there, doing whatever,' Carey said. 'I'm not going to name them because that would be as pathetic as what they are. I'll let the law take care of it.' Both he and Ms Aston have denied that there was any 'tryst' in the toilets. On Wednesday, Ben Fordham also issued a wild theory over the matter. He claimed that Cleary had gone into the bathroom to help her, speculating that she may have been chocking. 'He could have been down there in the latrines and he could have heard someone in a state of distress... she might have been choking on a prawn or an oyster or some piece of food,' Fordham told ex-Geelong player Sam Newman on his podcast You Cannot Be Serious. 'The Duck [Carey] might have rushed in there and given her the Heimlich manoeuvre. 'And he might have been pumping and thrusting to remove the prawn or the obstruction or whatever it might have been. He might have saved a life. 'That's the way I view the Duck. I view him as the good guy, not the bad guy.' Prior to that, Carey, also told Newman that he had: 'Gone through disbelief, sadness, I've gone through anger. 'This woman has been thrown into this just because I could kick a footy.' Newman had also pressed the former North Melbourne and Adelaide star prior to recording the podcast whether anything had gone on in the toilets. 'I said: 'I'd like to ask you, did you know the girl before you went down to the latrines, and were you in the same, not the same cubicle, were you in the same enclosure and speak to her there?' Newman said. 'He said: 'No.' I said: 'Good, well, that's good'. 'She was there, she walked out. He said: 'When I walked out, I was on the phone, I was on the phone to my partner, Jess'. 'And I said: 'Good.' It looked as though. He said there was absolutely nothing in it. The girl has said there was nothing in it, so he's taking umbrage at being accused of being a home breaker.' Fordham delivered his response to Newman's revelation, issuing his empathy to Carey over the matter before adding it was a 'gross invasion of someone's privacy'. 'If that's the case, I can understand why he's filthy, but I just couldn't, I was waiting for you to ask him the question on the podcast, and I don't know whether you just didn't want to become roadkill because he was on a bit of a mission at the time... but that's what I wanted to know. 'Only because he spoke about it for so long and he was going into so much detail. I just couldn't help but wonder, did you happen to step into the same cubicle or not? Obviously, he didn't. Two people can walk out of the [toilet] in the same direction a few minutes apart, having spent no time together at that location. Fordham added: 'It's a gross invasion of someone's privacy and it affects a lot of people.' Carey made 2244 appearances for North Melbourne between 1989 and 2001 before moving to play for the Adelaide Crows in 2003. He added that he would be following through on the matter 'to the tenth degree'. 'We are speaking and we will follow this through to the tenth degree. I'm blown away that women in their 40s could think this was a good idea. How would they explain this to their children?' he explained. 'This is women being cruel to another woman. They have shamed another woman and it is so wrong. It happens far too often and it doesn't get called out. Men do it and it gets called out as it should. Let's see where this goes to from here.'
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- The Guardian
Additional 800 children to be tested for STIs as police investigate accused Melbourne childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown
More than 800 additional children are being recommended for testing for sexually transmitted infections after four more childcare centres were added to a list of known workplaces of alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown. Additional dates have been added for 10 other childcare centres, with police citing incomplete records from the providers for the discrepancies. Earlier this month police revealed the 26-year-old childcare worker had been charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims, aged between five months and two years old. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Along with the health department, they released a list of 20 childcare centres where Brown worked between January 2017 and May 2025 and his known employment dates. Approximately 2,600 families with children who attended the centres were contacted, with 1,200 advised to undergo screening for sexually transmitted infections. Detectives from the sexual crimes squad on Tuesday confirmed four more centres had been added to Brown's work history. They are: Kids Academy Waratah Estate in Mickleham on 29 August 2024 Milestones Early Learning Tarneit on 10 September 2024 and 13 September 2024 Milestones Early Learning Braybrook on 4 December 2024 and 6 December 2024 Milestones Early Learning Greensborough on 5 December 2024, 31 January 2025 and 27 February 2025 Ten of the 20 centres already identified have also been updated based on new information provided to police, while Papilio Early Learning in Hoppers Crossing has been removed from the list after further investigation determined the information was incorrect. Police now believe Brown worked at 23 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025. In their statement, police said establishing Brown's complete work history had been 'extremely complex' as childcare providers do not have centralised records. It meant detectives had to 'execute search warrants to obtain handwritten records, shift rosters and other critical information.' Police also had to interview witnesses to verify details and provide an accurate account of Brown's employment history, as well as asses more than 270 Crimestoppers reports. 'We are working through a large amount of information that has been provided to us,' Acting Cmdr Janet Stevenson said. 'Each piece of information has to be individually assessed and verified before it can be used as part of the investigation or released to the public. 'I understand there are people who will be frustrated and I want to reinforce that this is a continually evolving and changing situation. What hasn't changed is that this investigation remains the highest priority for Victoria police.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The health department said it was contacting 830 additional families as a result of the new information, with 800 children recommended for testing. 'This is obviously a highly distressing situation, and I want to reassure all families being contacted that the potential exposure risk to an infectious disease for their child remains low,' the Victorian chief health officer, Dr Christian McGrath, said. 'Our recommendation for testing is a precaution and the test results we've received to date as part of this investigation reaffirms that the risk is low.' Families will be contacted initially via SMS and then with a phone call. The department urged families to check the updated list of childcare centres and employment dates before calling its advice line. In a statement, Affinity Education Group, which operates many of the listed centres, apologised to affected families. 'We are deeply sorry for the distress this is causing our families – no family should have to go through this. We are committed to supporting every family impacted whilst continuing to cooperate fully with the authorities as the investigation continues,' a spokesperson said. 'We share the urgency in ensuring that affected families receive accurate and timely information. Affinity has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse or misconduct involving children. The safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is – and always will be – our highest priority.' The group provided police with updated employment records for Brown on 3 July.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Western United served breach notices for not paying A-League players
Embattled A-Leagues club Western United has been served with breach notices by both its men's and women's players over unpaid wages and superannuation. Western's A-League Men players have to attempt to overturn a 3-0 deficit in Saturday's semifinal second leg against Melbourne City after not receiving their most recent pay. The soccer players' union, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), has lashed United's "unacceptable" conduct and on Tuesday issued breach notices. United must complete payments within two weeks, by Tuesday, June 3, or players can take further action, including termination of contract. "The ongoing failure of Western United to meet its contractual obligations to players, including unpaid wages and superannuation, is unacceptable," chief executive Beau Busch said in a statement. "The professionalism and commitment of the players and staff in extremely difficult circumstances has been remarkable. "We are actively engaging with both the club and the APL to ensure the matter is resolved swiftly and the players will continue to be supported with the full resources of the PFA." It is just the latest blow to the expansion club, which is currently subject to a men's player registration ban from FIFA, understood to relate to a dispute with former striker Aleksandar Prijovic. United cannot register new players until January 2027 unless that dispute is resolved. The Tarneit-based club had fallen behind on payments in a previous pay cycle but were able to complete them. It is understood the PFA had been optimistic United's pay situation would be resolved with the announcement earlier this month that incoming new investors will take a controlling stake in parent company Western Melbourne Group. Instead, unpaid men's and women's players attended the club's end-of-season awards night on Tuesday, the same day their union lodged the breach notices on their behalf. "The club has been in constant communication with the players and is working closely with the PFA and the APL to address these matters urgently," United said in a statement. "Everyone at the club is fully focused on our semifinal second leg against Melbourne City on Saturday and we look forward to seeing our supporters and Australian football fans in attendance for a fantastic occasion." The sale to KAM Melbourne, a subsidiary of American group KAM Sports, is subject to regulatory checks from the APL and Football Australia. The PFA is also conducting its own due diligence checks on KAM Melbourne. AAP has contacted the APL for comment. AAP
