Sydney Roosters have been accused of being 'self-entitled' and having 'an inflated sense of importance' by a Football Australia official after a spat over a sign at the new Allianz Stadium.
Prior to their first match in the new venue last weekend, Sydney FC erected a tarpaulin over an illuminated sign on the outside of the stadium which says, 'Home of the Sydney Roosters', complete with the club's logo.
The move by the A-League Men club caused tension between the venue's three tenants - Roosters, Sydney FC and NSW Waratahs - with subsequent discussions resulting in Venues NSW agreeing to turn the lights off behind the Sydney Roosters sign at the government-funded stadium.
Football Australia marketing boss Peter Filipoulos went in to bat for Sydney FC, expressing his bewilderment at the insistence of the Roosters to have their branding displayed during a match from a rival code - considering they didn't own the venue.
"Bizarre! How can a club from a rival code expect their brand be illuminated in-stadium at a shared government funded stadium at a co-tenant’s matches (from another code mind you) is beyond mind boggling," Filopoulos tweeted.
"Reads like self entitlement & an inflated sense of importance over others."
Bizarre! How can a club from a rival code expect their brand be illuminated in-stadium at a shared government funded stadium at a co-tenant’s matches (from another code mind you) is beyond mind boggling. Reads like self entitlement & an inflated sense of importance over others. https://t.co/i1GkiqfCZ3
— Peter Filopoulos (@peterfilopoulos) October 13, 2022
In an interview with Daily Telegraph's Buzz Rothfield, Roosters chairman Nick Politis accused Sydney FC of being 'petty' and not understanding the club's 'history'.
"It’s very, very petty," Politis said prior to flying to the Rugby League World Cup in England.
"They obviously don’t understand our history.
"We’ve been on this site with three stadiums for 86 years. How long have they been around?
"What they did with the tarpaulin looked so hideous on a beautiful new $900 million stadium.
"They just have a ground hire agreement.
"We paid for our own facilities and we pay rent for the space we use.
"It’s in our contract that the signage is part of that agreement."
The new Allianz Stadium cost nearly $830 million to build after the previous venue was demolished in 2019.
The venue was opened with an NRL-NRLW header on September 2 with the main event featuring a city derby between the Roosters and Rabbitohs.
