Daniel Arzani expected to escape sanctions from the club Melbourne’s victory after a photo was circulated showing Australia international player who plays for an amateur team in Sydney.
Arzani played for Coogee United, his youth club, in a sixth-tier match last Saturday.
Victory declined to comment but told AAP that Arzani’s behaviour would be addressed when players resume pre-season training later this week.
The Eastern Suburbs Football Association (ESFA) also declined to comment but said it was investigating allegations that Arzani played for Coogee United as a substitute. ESFA rules state that players must be amateurs and be officially registered with the association.
Arzani is not expected to be punished for his actions, although Victory’s new boss Patrick Kisnorbo may have had a less than favourable view of his behaviour. Arzani, 25, was also unhappy about playing for an amateur team on a rain-soaked pitch and risking injury.
The seven-times capped Socceroo endured an injury-plagued early career and has only recently returned to the national team under Graham Arnold, earning a call-up in June. World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh And Palestine.
It is the first time Arzani has won a cap in nearly six years and comes after a superb season for Victory in A-League Men’s TeamUpon his recall to the Socceroos, Arzani credited Victory head coach Tony Popovic with helping him rediscover the form that once made him one of Australia’s most coveted young players.
“The biggest takeaway for me from working under my boss [Popovic] “This season is a mental season for the game,” Arzani said in May. “It really helps the team and the environment I’ve been in this year.
“We’re very competitive, very professional and just a really great group of guys.
“They all supported me, helped me a lot and I’m in a really good position now.”
Arzani made headlines as a teenage prodigy, earning a move Premier League the giants Manchester city at the age of 19, just months after becoming the youngest player to appear at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
However, Arzani’s time in Europe has been marred by injury. Man City have arranged a two-year loan deal at Celts for Arzani when he arrived in the UK, only for the teenager to tear his anterior cruciate ligament just 20 minutes after making his Hoops debut. Nearly two years passed until Arzani made another senior appearance — on loan at Utrecht Football Club in the Netherlands — but after loan spells in Denmark and Belgium, Man City did not renew his contract and he returned to the A-League in July 2022.
