Fury demands independent review

Check out ABC's coverage of North Queensland Fury press conference today

On a day of revelations, Fury board member Peter Brine claimed the club was kept in the dark by FFA over its true financial position, while chief executive Rabieh Krayem revealed he was on the verge of signing a major sponsor that he said would have pushed revenue over $2million.

Brine asserted FFA’s withholding information was part of an agenda against the club.

"A couple of weeks ago when we had a hook-up with the FFA, we were left in no uncertain terms by the FFA that we had done everything we possibly could to save the Fury," Brine said.

"Their comment was 'you guys have been excellent, you have done everything you can now, leave it with us'.

"We have not heard anything back from the FFA about that at all until yesterday when they told us we were $2 million short.

"If we are $2million short and they know we are $2million short two weeks ago, why didn't they let us know?"

"I was approached to get involved in the Fury in the first season and I had too many business commitments and I couldn't at the time but was there as a supporter.

"This is the Football Federation Australian North Queensland Fury profit and loss statement projected and its 27 months to 30th of June 2012, which was prepared in March 2010.

"They projected a loss of this last season of $2.4million; they projected a loss of next season of $2.2million.

"This was done last March and was the sole reason I got involved, because I could see the club had a future, and we have put figures together that would have got that [to a] loss less than $2.2million."

Brine claimed FFA was more interested in looking after Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar, than investing in Fury long term, despite an assurance at the beginning of the current season that the club would have two years under the administration’s ownership.

"They care about football but it's clear that at this moment in time, Fury and North Queensland is not on their radar," Brine said.

"They told us for the first time that they want to use the funds that they were projecting for Fury to go elsewhere and prop the league up, which to me is a bad investment and to the detriment of the growth of the game."

"There needs to be a completely independent review of the decision they made yesterday," he said.

"If there is no independent review on the FFA and what they have done to the Fury, then they can just do that to any club."