Extraordinary moment Australian football coach claims ‘we’ve become a nation of passive people’ in furious rant after his side were branded a ‘disgrace’ following a mid-game scuffle that allegedly involved police

The ugly halftime spat between Brisbane and Central Coast has had an even uglier fallout, with the Roar seeking legal advice after Mariners interim coach Warren Moon’s stinging post-match comments.

Now, Brisbane boss Michael Valkanis has had his say on the row, launching into a stunning rant in which he claims that Australia has lost its winning mentality. The Brisbane coach was handed a red card for two bookable offences in the first half of his side’s 2-1 win against the Mariners. 

But drama ensued at half-time, with a scuffle taking place in the tunnel, with Central Coast coach Moon claiming that police were called to resolve the disagreement. 

It came as the Roar have said that Moon’s claims of police involvement were off the mark, adding that police were already at the venue as part of their routine operations and no conduct by Brisbane required police to step in.

Valkanis, meanwhile, said he was surprised to receive a red card, and insinuated some referees may have it in for him. 

‘What I can’t understand is… I grew up in a nation that had passion, that had a winning mentality’ Valkanis said when giving his assessment of the match.

‘Now we’ve become a nation of participators and passive people.

‘It starts all at school. I remember when I used to run at school and I used to compete, I used to get a ribbon. First; I’d get a gold medal. Now we give them to everybody.

‘What we’ve got here is a team that wants to fight to win.

‘From the first day they came to training, we spoke and we knew what we’re going to build and where we’re going to get to.

‘I think it’s normal when you put in place what your expectations are, and your standards are. The way they work the way they train, the togetherness; it’s amazing. They want to play good football.’

On his second yellow card, Valkanis added: ‘I feel like it was a perfect chance to probably shut me up, because I have voiced my opinion about the VAR and about some decisions,’ Valkanis said.

‘I’ve said it before, sometimes the referees feel good giving a card to me. That’s OK. It’s not going to stop who I am.

‘The game’s about emotion, about passion. 

‘Maybe we need more passion in this league. Maybe that’s what’s missing.’

It came after Moon, a former player and coach at the Roar, labelled the half-time conduct of Brisbane’s coaching staff a disgrace and an embarrassment. 

Brisbane’s Justin Vidic headed home a 92nd-minute winner to spark wild celebrations, but it was drama earlier in the spiteful A-League Men match that stole headlines.

The first yellow card was for his antics on the sidelines during a heated moment of the match.

The veteran coach gave an ironic applause to referee Alex King upon receiving the first yellow, with the action immediately earning him another booking and subsequent red card.

The drama went into overdrive after the halftime whistle when players and staff from both sides engaged in an angry exchange in the tunnel.

Moon, in a post-match interview with Paramount, said police were called.

‘I’m just going to be honest and say what I witnessed tonight was a disgrace,’ Moon told Paramount.

‘That was an embarrassment tonight, what happened before halftime and then halftime in the tunnel.

‘I’m sure it will come out. Police were called.

‘I’m not going to go into the details, except to say I’m really disappointed with what I saw from the conduct of the opposition staff tonight.

‘There are volunteers in there that were in the middle of something they didn’t deserve to be involved in.’

Moon addressed the matter again in his regular post-match interview.

‘The coach was sent off – that’s not a player. There’s no disadvantage to the playing team,’ Moon said.

‘It was a time for cool heads, and the opposite happened, to the point where there were police in the tunnel during halftime.

‘I’m quite bemused by it all.’

The Roar released a statement on Thursday, strongly denying they did anything to bring the game into disrepute.

‘Brisbane Roar Football Club is aware of comments made by the Central Coast Mariners’ interim head coach following last night’s match which publicly insinuated serious misconduct by the club and its staff,’ the statement read.

‘Those comments were inappropriate, irresponsible, and unsupported by any facts.

‘At no time did Brisbane Roar Football Club, its officials, or its coaching staff engage in conduct that brought the game into disrepute. Any suggestion otherwise is categorically rejected.

‘The public reference to police involvement was also misleading. Police were already present at the venue as part of routine match-day operations, and no conduct by Brisbane Roar Football Club or its personnel required police intervention.

‘Given the seriousness of the insinuations made and the reputational harm caused to the club, Brisbane Roar Football Club is seeking legal advice in relation to the comments.’

Football Australia say they will investigate the issue as part of their regular Match Review Panel review, with findings expected in coming days.

The Australian Professional Leagues, which runs the various A-League competitions, say they will ‘support the review led by Football Australia’.