Macarthur FC have publicly expressed their disappointment their captain Ulises Davila has been suspended for two matches.
Davila was charged by the independent Match Review Panel after the match with Western United last Saturday.
In a media statement, the panel said the incident occurred around the 53rd minute of Macarthur’s A-League match against Western.
“On Monday, 8 April 2024, the MRP issued Davila with a disciplinary notice to show cause why the offence of Assault on a Player (e.g. violent conduct when not challenging for the ball) or against any other person other than a match official, including an attempted assault, should not be found to have been committed.’’
The panel received submissions on behalf of Davila in response to the disciplinary notice before finding that he had committed the offence and would receive a two match suspension.
“The club is extremely disappointed with the FA MRP process and subsequent suspension of our captain Ulises Davila,’’ said Sam Krslovic, the Macarthur FC Group CEO.
“From the VAR audio recordings provided, it is clear that the incident was reviewed and cleared by the VAR panel during the course of the game.
“It is blatantly obvious there is a major issue with the FA process in and around the jurisdiction between VAR and MRP.
“We have less qualified retired officials (MRP), overruling active trained qualified officials (VAR) post game. This is a clear gap within the governance structure,’’ Krslovic said.
“FA has also advised the club that there is no previous similar precedent, and this scenario has never occurred since the inception of the VAR.
“The club will actively work with FA to address this governance structure gap including but not limited to the relevance of MRP in today’s game, a complete review of MRP member composition, qualifications and training of MRP members going forward.’’
Davila will be available for selection in Macarthur’s last home and away season match against Wellington Phoenix FC on Saturday, April 27.
Tonight, the Bulls had to South Australia to take on Adelaide United, kick off at 7.45pm.
