Pretty much. If people have made claims about a toxic environment and someone is getting fired for it, they should publicly explain what was going on instead of vague hints and "I'm not surprised" comments.

I didn't realize the head coach had so many duties and expectations that include the behavior of 35 or 40 other people towards each other. I thought his job was to pick the team, train to the tactics, and adjust as needed on match day.

Gee Stajcic must have simply decided to completely change the culture after he was reappointed. Because Gallop used to think Stajcic was great for the culture.

“Further to their recent record is the change in team culture which FFA chief executive David Gallop says played a major role in the board's decision to keep Stajcic on board until the Tokyo games.

"They're genuine medal contenders and apart from playing well, there's an environment of professionalism and development that is setting us up for the future," Gallop said.“

He's responsible for all those things in as much as they effect the performance of the unit.

@EB. Yeah apparently the coach is responsible for everyone and anything that happens on his watch.

Conversely it seems that Gallop is responsible for no one and nothing that happens on his watch ....

I choose not to label my opinion. If you ascribe greater value to it than my opinion; more the fool you :)

Sam Kerr would be singled out because her media profile is far and away greater than any other Matildas player or staff member. She is the flagship of our women's football and has worldwide credibility.

Any comment for or against would be given an unfair weighting on her perspective alone.

Makes sense to me.

For Maxxie - I agree wholeheartedly in opposing the statements and opinions throughout this thread that suggest the age-old stereotypical weaker emotional hysterical woman is a valid argument. Those comments are offensive and deserve rebuke completely outside the discussion itself.

On the discussion itself, most of us are reading and forming opinions based on our own experiences and rationale - and I think getting the only entertainment out of this dark and gloomy situation that is possible by making things up for discussion. That is the core of forums - we don't silence our fingers when facts are unavailable we suggest what we think and see how it pans out. Much the same as we predict the outcome of games for the value of guessing right based on any number of fact or opinion based criteria.

Do we contribute to the toxicity of the situation or even the thickness of the smear? Of course we do - but it is the only outlet for most of us to express our feelings about any issue, and at the end of the day a forum is filled with opinions and guesswork by its very nature.

@ CO. Yeah.....how convenient. Easy to be in the top job when your not accountable for anything.

A lot of the big names in the current squad, including Kerr just now, are saying they were shocked by the decision.  They're either lying or actually shocked.

The more this story develops the more it stinks to high heaven.

I thought Clockwork nailed it too on first pass - and yet, if something has gone on and he has become aware of it he is now taking action - taking responsibility - because he knows his head would be next if he did nothing.

It is how it is coming out that I blame Gallop for - not necessarily that he has done something.

Sam Kerr
I have not been gagged by the FFA. I have not commented because I wasn’t ready to comment while I am still shocked and upset. My trust was in Staj to lead us to the World Cup final & I believe he was the best coach for that. Thankful for everything his done for me and the team.

https://twitter.com/samkerr1/status/1086866632427753472

This is very fishy. I agree with those who remain surprised that Gallop can be involved in so
many decisions that baffle the football community, including players, and yet manage to survive by dishing out meaningless corporate speak and having no accountability himself. I am not usually a fan of conspiracy theories but am starting to wonder whether he is actively trying to wreck football in this country. The next CEO cannot be from another code.

And yet her club at the time said "FFA said not to talk".

Just messy!

@canberraharry
First a CEO from Rugby Union, then AFL and now Rugby League....the three main direct opposition codes to football.....who’s next the CEO of cricket?.........your/our question is valid and must be put on the table. Two managers gone 5 months out from the World Cup.....coincidence or planned....inside job on football ?.....you have got to wonder.

That was exactly the point I was making by my question. Of course Stajcic was not making homophobic remarks. If Stajcic is guilty of anything, it is a failure of leadership by not controlling the behaviour of others, if he is guilty of anything.

The blood splatters on the FFA doorstep are turning into a pool. Where is our board of FFA.

Incredibly so, the whole thing is a complete mess.

This is very confusing ....all the main players seem to be upset Stajic is gone ..so did he get sacked because he wasn't playing fringe players ? If so why ? ....that makes no sense. "Toxic environment" I don't get ....obviously it is only the fringe dwellers who are finding something toxic.
What exactly ? The fact they aren't playing  ?
Is this some sort of workplace issue where someone got offended ?
So many questions ...

The players coming out in support of Stajcic are established stars of the team while the report mentions the behaviour towards younger players so probably not the same group of players. Although it would be surprising if the younger players were being targeted for bad treatment the whole squad was not aware of it happening. 

I've been working the Stajcic story for 24 hours now & it simply doesn't add up. Players to have posted who are *seemingly* pro Staj -CarpenterCrummerKennedyPolkinghorneButtKellond-KnightLogarzoDe VannaGielnikKerr Simon It's a full eleven.

https://twitter.com/patstackmedia/status/1086886152408190976

Well Carpenter is one of the youngest in the team so there goes that theory.

It is starting to look like Our Watch have fooled the FFA into sacking a brilliant coach on the basis of their gender equality probably based on twisting a perfectly reasonable situation of a male being coach. I think in their view just having a male as the sole head of the team as the coach fails their gender equality concerns as we cannot have a male bossing around a group of women, that is just bullying and intimidation and a toxic workplace environment. The survey was probably written in a way that perfectly accurate responses could be seen as males having all the say and females not having a say in running the team. A few examples given could then have been blown out of proportion as though it was happening all the time and Stajcic was an incompetent leader. The FFA have been too stupid to see through what would and did happen when they got them to make the report. 
Either that or somebody got the idea that the team must have a female coach and found a way to make it happen using Our Watch.

It stinks.

This is a fair point. I can't say I've given much thought to the differences between discourse on a forum vs facebook/IRL/comments on/in news articles. This is the only online forum that I'm on (excluding youtube and FB), so I use it the same way I'd use anything else. I stand by my opinions, but I can see that other people would see things differently and have a different approach to forum discussions.

Thanks for the thoughtful post.

Spot on Test fan. Have seen these surveys in business.
“Does your boss treat every player exactly the same?”
“Has you boss ever criticised you in front of others?”
“Does your boss regularly reinforce the principles of gender equality?”
“Have you ever felt stressed at work?”
“Has you coach ever knowingly played you when you had an injury?”

Wouldn’t be surprised at all if ‘Our watch’ are the key piece of this puzzle/mystery and they are behind this and are guilty of dodgy conduct. Hopefully stajic pursues it further and the documents(report, surveys ) are released to his lawyers under the freedom of information act. Get out your popcorn folks.....

The players probably answered that they were quite often nervous at work, that the coach demanded better performance and criticised poor performance, that players were singled out at times for errors, that they were yelled at sometimes, that players were told they were not fit enough and were carrying to much fat without thinking these things were negatives, but just part of a coach doing a good job. Then these answers were used to make it seem like Stajcic was a problem. bullying, intimidation, body shaming. The younger players probably get a bit more attention because Stajcic was trying to get them into the team and up to standard, perhaps pushing them to greater fitness than they have had before. Also younger players are more error prone so more likely to have that pointed out.

Our watch was only one of the 2 surveys. How about the one done by the PFA? They probably found similar things?

Lydia Williams
The achievements we succeeded in with him guiding us were monumental. The stuff dreams are made of. Thank you doesn’t cover it. I’m still in shock. But for those questioning our World Cup campaign.... never underestimate the power of a team with a point to prove

https://twitter.com/lydsaussie/status/1086891707575107585

But did the two surveys cover the same issues?

How much did the surveys cost?

The Professional Footballers Association was concerned by a spike in playing commitments, moving from part-time players to a non-stop calendar of W-League, overseas club and international football, and increasing commercial duties. Following a slump in the Matildas' on-field performances from 2017 to 2018, the FFA was only too happy to begin the review.

a damning report undertaken by Our Watch, an organisation tackling abuse and violence of women, alleged incidents that bordered on harassment. It is understood it flagged cases of bullying, intimidation, retribution and even body shaming towards some younger players and even suggestions of flippant homophobic insults regularly made by unspecified staff members.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/how-routine-review-spiralled-out-of-control-and-cost-stajcic-his-job-20190119-p50sf4.html