Posted March 15, 2011 13:32:00
Updated April 12, 2011 13:14:00
Kevin Muscat, the player once-dubbed "the most hated man in football", is in the final stretch of his decorated but controversial career, the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League. But how will he sign off?
Muscat has won championships and been a fixture of the national side, but will perhaps be remembered for a suite of ugly tackles, one of which led to him being successfully sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Muscat announced his retirement last month, following another dangerous tackle and a near-record eight week suspension from the A-League.
But the league does not have the power to suspend players from other competitions, leaving Muscat free to play out his contract for Victory in the opening stages of their Asian Champions League campaign, which begin in humiliation fashion against Gamba Osaka a fortnight ago and sees them face Korean outfit Jeju United in Melbourne tonight.
The 37-year-old veteran has admitted to being frustrated by the pace and skill of younger opponents in the A-League, and finds himself up against even higher quality opposition in Asia.
Grant Bretch, the consultant psychologist who worked with AFL player Barry Hall after the Sydney spearhead's on-field violence in 2008, says all clubs must be careful with how they handle the return of repeat offenders.
While unwilling to talk about the specifics of Muscat's return, he says there is "absolutely no doubt that someone who I think has a history of getting themself into trouble should go through some sort of rehabilitation".
"Certain goals should be set, and a certain treatment program put in place and then when those parameters are met, and then that program has been worked through, both from an attitudinal and behavioural perspective in terms of the treatment, then that person probably ought to be allowed to return," Bretch said.
"But there's no doubt that it ought to be treated seriously in that case and those resources allocated."
He also says any club "would have to be very careful" about letting such a player coach, a position Muscat is set to pursue when the curtain does draw on his career.
"Unless someone had really shown they were that they were able to change their behaviour, putting them in a coaches role would be almost irresponsible," Bretch said.
Melbourne Victory have chosen a different route to the Swans.
The club has told the ABC it was happy to accept the A-League's suspension and "will judge Muscat on his performance over six seasons, not one mistimed tackle".
Professional Footballers Association chief executive Brendan Schwab also supports Muscat's decision to play out his contract and says it holds no fears about him being a liability to others on the field.
"Well I think Melbourne Victory is in a good position to assess Kevin and what's required at the this point of time, there's no doubt that both Kevin and the club and indeed the entire Australian football community understand the seriousness of the incident involving Adrian Zahra," Schwab said.
"But in the main, Kevin Muscat has been an outstanding player and an outstanding advocate of Australian football.
"As a person who has worked with him for nearly two decades, I'm happy to stand by him.
"I'm very confident he will do the game and his club proud.
"Kevin wants to complete his career on a positive note, and the best way in which he can do that is to be the ultimate professional."
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