Ridiculous policy': calls for end of FFA Cup flag ban rule

Football Federation Victoria will petition for the removal of a “ridiculous” policy that forced a team to conceal an Italian flag emblem on their jersey during an FFA Cup match on Wednesday night.

Avondale FC, a Melbourne-based club founded by Italian immigrants, defeated Marconi 4-1 in their round of 32 clash but were informed the week prior they were in breach of the National Club Identity Policy, which prohibits any “ethnic, national, political, racial or religious” identifiers.

Club committee member Anthony Nuzzaco said despite having their FFA Cup playing strip initially approved by Football Federation Australia, Avondale were instructed to hide a small strip of colours from the Italian flag that sat on the back of the team’s jerseys.

FFV chief executive Peter Filopoulos said nobody would have noticed it had it not been covered up and called for the NCIP to be scrapped altogether.

“In an age where everybody speaks about diversity and inclusion, where other sports that don’t have the multicultural immersion that we do are [trying] to get into multicultural communities... I just don’t think the NCIP has any place in our sport,” Filopoulos told AAP.

“There was a time when national club identities did cause issues in soccer, you can’t deny that. But I think now we have matured and developed as a nation ... we don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore. There’s a great narrative we can build around our multiculturalism. Rather than suppressing it, let’s celebrate it and use it to our advantage.”

Filopoulos said he would put the NCIP on the agenda next Friday at a meeting of state federation CEOs.

The NCIP, its intentions and the lack of consistency with which it is enforced has been a source of frustration and anger in Australian football since its introduction in 2014.

Marconi, another club with Italian roots, were wearing green shirts, white shorts and red socks against Avondale in a clear tribute to the country’s flag. The same colours also feature on Avondale’s logo but they did not have to alter it because it pre-dates the NCIP.

“We don’t even discuss, as a committee, being Italian,” Nuzzaco told AAP. “It doesn’t make sense that just because you’ve got an Italian, Greek or Maltese heritage that you can’t be proud of that. It doesn’t mean you’re not open and welcoming to all different nationalities that come to your club.”

FFA has been contacted for comment