Soccer chief comes to Neill´s defence

Australian soccer boss Ben Buckley has taken the extraordinary step of defending Lucas Neill against accusations of a mutiny at last year’s World Cup.

Buckley, the chief executive officer of the FFA also described Neill as ‘one of the finest Socceroo captains of all time’.

Neill has been put in the spotlight by accusations levelled at him by respected broadcaster and member of the FIFA ethics committee Les Murray, who said in his book that Neill has led a mutiny against Verbeek in the minutes leading up to Australia’s 4-0 loss in the World Cup opener in Durban.

Neill has denied that he erased Verbeek’s tactics off the dressing room wall and told his team-mates that the Dutchman’s tactics were ‘bull….’ and to go out and play their own game.

Now Australian football’s governing body has also jumped to Neill’s defence, all but accusing Murray of fabricating the dramatic story.

“As the captain of the Qantas Socceroos, Lucas Neill has demonstrated exceptional leadership over the past five years,” Buckley said.

“He stands tall as an Australian sporting leader of the highest quality.”

“No one involved with the Socceroos in South Africa can recall any incident with the slightest resemblance to what has been described in today’s press,” he said.

Murray stands by his account, and said he blames Verbeek for asking Australia to adopt a defensive mindset.