ASA invokes FIFA rule, bans Viduka

Mark Viduka will miss Leeds United’s vital Premier League match against Manchester United after the Australian Soccer Association confirmed it would invoke rules banning him from club games for five days after skipping an international. Viduka and Swiss-based Scott Chipperfield were selected for Australia’s friendly against Venezuela yesterday but didn’t travel to Caracas and didn’t prove that injuries would have kept them off the field. Viduka had asked for an exemption from national duties after relegation-threatened Leeds gave him three weeks off last month to visit his sick father in Melbourne, Australia.

“In the case of Mark Viduka, ASA emphasises that while it is sympathetic to Mark’s personal situation, it notes he has played twice for Leeds since returning from Australia,” the national association said in a statement released today. “Furthermore, ASA is not satisfied that Mark has sustained an injury which would have prevented him (playing) in Caracas.” — (AFP)