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Ernie Merrick says the process in which A-League coaches are sanctioned for speaking out against referees is erratic and lacks transparency.
Football Federation Australia has defended its methods when sanctioning A-League coaches following an attack from Newcastle mentor Ernie Merrick.
The league's most experienced coach accused the governing body of running a process that is erratic and lacks transparency when a coach criticises match officials.
While Merrick wouldn't single out an incident, his comments are seemingly directed at the FFA's decision not to punish Wellington Phoenix coach Mark Rudan for his severe criticism of referee Adam Kersey following a 1-1 draw with Perth Glory two weeks ago.
No public explanation was made for Rudan being cleared.
The Professional Football Referees Association took umbrage, with all match officials in round eight covering the "#respect" hashtag on their uniforms as a protest.
They had the support of Merrick, who believes referees "have really been thrown under the bus".
Merrick joked he'll seek a refund on the $1500 fine he copped last season for calling match officials "disgraceful", a remark which was arguably eclipsed by Rudan's scathing review.
"There's nothing transparent about coaches being sanctioned," Merrick said.
"If a player is sanctioned, everyone knows the three on the tribunal he's facing, they know what the charge is, they know the three on the appeals board, and it's all explained, all open, transparent process.
"When it comes to a coach, the coach gets a 'please-explain', and then usually a fine. Now it's all been kept quiet."
An FFA spokesman told AAP there is no change to the long-established system whereby dissenting comments from a coach comes under the jurisdiction of the FFA's code of conduct, while players' on-field indiscretions are assessed by a match review panel.
A code of conduct finding is only announced if there has been a breach.
The spokesman wouldn't comment on the silent protest from match officials, nor on the Rudan code of conduct hearing, which assessed the merits of the new Phoenix coach's withering attack.
"I've never seen anything like it, it got to the point where I had to laugh," Rudan said of Kersey at the post-match press conference.
"I turned around to my coaching staff. It was hilarious, a joke, an absolute joke. If he can sleep well at night, good on him."
Merrick questioned the role of the newly-formed Football Coaches Australia, the group that was critical of the referees' protest.
The FFA spokesman said while the FCA had supported Rudan, it had no part to play in the code of conduct hearing.
