Gold Coast coach quits, club says he was fired

The turmoil at Gold Coast United escalated Monday when the struggling A-League club's owner announced he'd fired the coach, rejecting Miron Bleiberg's claims that he'd resigned in the wake of his suspension last week.

Gold Coast couldn't be in a worse position, having slumped well off the pace at the bottom of the A-League and losing its foundation coach at the same time as mining magnate owner Clive Palmer was quoted as describing the team as insignificant, the competition as a joke and rating rugby league as a better game.

Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley said the future of Gold Coast United was being assessed after Palmer's outburst.

''There would be no Gold Coast United without (Palmer's) commitment to the team,'' Buckley said. ''But I guess some of the comments over the weekend mean that we have to evaluate the future of the Gold Coast United team.

''There's players who play for the club, there's coaches, there's administrators.

''We need to make sure all of those factors are taken into account before we rush to decisions.''

Buckley plans to meet with Palmer at the end of the season. Asked if the FFA could strip Palmer of the license, Buckley said all clubs had commitments and obligations to the league and the game.

''And if they breach those commitments and obligations we have rights to take issue with those breaches, but let's not rush to any particular decision.''

In newspaper reports Monday, Bleiberg said he'd quit because he'd been disrespected by Palmer.

Palmer said he hadn't received any resignation letter and that Bleiberg had instead been fired and replaced by assistant coach Mike Mulvey, who has guided the club's youth team to least season's title.

Palmer also said his comments on football were taking out of context the Sunday Mail, but didn't back away from his criticism of the A-League and its administration.

Palmer has long been a critic of the sport's administrators and caused a stir in 2009 when he capped the crowd attendance at matches to 5,000 fans to save stadium costs. He later withdrew the cap, but United has struggled to attract large crowds despite finishing third and fourth in its first two seasons since joining the league in 2009.

In the latest saga, Bleiberg was suspended for a match for saying that Palmer's decision to appoint 17-year-old rookie Mitch Cooper as captain of the senior team on his debut last Friday night was largely ceremonial.

Bleiberg was due to meet the club Monday, but told the media on the weekend that he wouldn't be returning.

''I'm not coming back,'' he was quoted as saying. ''Clive took away my dignity, he disrespected me and he disrespected the game. In his eyes, it could be he thinks I did something wrong. The punishment does not fit the crime.''

The A-League's expansion plans have been slowed by financial problems for some clubs, including the decision to shut down the North Queensland Fury. To help, the league has been selling stakes in the clubs to foreign investors, including the 100 percent ownership of defending champion Brisbane Roar to an Indonesian firm.

Palmer is among the 10 wealthiest people in Australia, but his ties to football haven't been long.

He told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Monday that he had no plans to sell the Gold Coast United license. He said his comments in the Sunday newspaper were about the way the A-League is run, not about the sport.

''I've got no confidence with its administers and the way it's operated in Australia,'' he said. ''As far as the game itself, I think it's a great game. I do support it.

''I'll never sell the club. There's no doubt about that. All we're seeking is good corporate governance and a fair go for Australian football and football fans.''