According to ESPN, Australian international, Melbourne Victory player, and former Manchester City player Azani has sparked controversy for playing in a sixth-tier league for an amateur Australian team, which is under investigation. However, Azani may escape punishment.
On Saturday, Azani played for Coogee United, his youth club, in a sixth-tier Australian league, sparking controversy. After all, Azani is a Melbourne Victory player, so how could he play for another team in the league?
Azani’s actions are suspected of being a double violation. First, according to the Eastern Suburbs Football Association (ESFA) rules, players participating in the sixth-tier league must be amateur and officially registered, which Azani clearly isn’t. Second, Melbourne Victory’s coach and management are very unhappy with Azani’s behavior, as the team is about to start summer training, and the player is playing an amateur league game in heavy rain for another team, putting himself at a high risk of injury and potentially causing losses for his team.
However, ESPN believes that Azani may escape punishment. Melbourne Victory declined to comment, only stating that they would address the issue when pre-season training begins later this week. Meanwhile, the Eastern Suburbs Football Association also declined to comment, only stating that they would investigate the matter.
Azani is an Australian international. The former prodigy played in the 2018 World Cup in Russia at the age of 19 and subsequently joined English Premier League side Manchester City. However, his development has been bumpy since then, with loan spells in the Scottish Premier League, Dutch Eredivisie, and Danish Superliga, and he is now back in the Australian league. He had a good season last season for Melbourne Victory, playing as a midfielder and winger, scoring 4 goals and providing 6 assists in 27 A-League games last season. This performance earned him a return to the national team after 6 years.
This article is from a user submission and does not represent the views of Soccer News Pick. If you repost it, please indicate the source: https://www.soccernewspick.com/a-league/10679.html
