Soccer-Slater slams A-League rule change after standings error

"The whole point is you just stick to what the rest of world are doing, there is a good reason for it," Slater told News Corp. "If you look at things that might be wrong with the A-League, and there's a lot you can pick from, that is not one of them.

Former Australia international Robbie Slater said the A-League's decision to change the way it ranks teams who are level on points is "ridiculous and absurd" after a technical error left fans confused about clubs' positions on the top-flight table. Most soccer leagues separate teams that are tied on points by goal difference (the difference between goals scored and goals conceded), but the A-League's new rules prioritise the number of wins a team has.

With Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix level on 12 points, the Victoria-based club were listed in top spot on the A-League's website thanks to their superior goal difference, despite the New Zealand outfit having one more win. After a fan's post on the social medial platform X, formerly known as Twitter, pointed out that Phoenix should be top of the standings according to the A-League's new rules, the league updated the table on its website.

In a statement on Tuesday, the A-league said the rule change had been communicated to clubs in the off-season and that it had been made to "encourage more attacking football and to increase the number of matches that matter through the season". "A technical error – which has now been rectified – had led to the league tables showing incorrectly on aleagues.com.au for the opening rounds of the 2023-24 season."

Former Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United player Slater said there was no reason for the A-League to change the rule. "The whole point is you just stick to what the rest of world are doing, there is a good reason for it," Slater told News Corp.

"If you look at things that might be wrong with the A-League, and there's a lot you can pick from, that is not one of them. Why muck around with what the rest of the world does ... Don't fix what's not broken."