F-bomber Fornaroli facing disciplinary action from FFA

Football Federation Australia is considering taking disciplinary action against Melbourne City captain Bruno Fornaroli over the F-bomb he dropped in his FFA Cup victory speech on Wednesday night.

Fornaroli

Bruno Fornaroli was forced to apologise after a gaffe during his FFA Cup winners speech. Source: Getty Images

FFA issued a statement on Thursday night, which read: "FFA is currently reviewing comments made by Melbourne City captain Bruno Fornaroli following last night’s Westfield FFA Cup Final in Melbourne to ascertain whether Fornaroli has breached the FFA Code of Conduct."

Fornaroli, with his gradually improving but still patchy English, made his victory speech on behalf of the team reading from palm cards.

As he approached the end of his speech he pointed right to his teammates and then left to the fans, saying along the way: "My players, my teammates, and the fans' support. Thank you very much. Come on City!"

But he hadn't finished yet and as he threw the palm cards into the air he bizarrely yelled into the microphone: "And f#@! off."
Spanish-speaking Fornaroli spoke at a media conference on Thursday and said he had meant to close his speech by saying the Spanish word vamos ("let's go"), but got confused in the excitement of the moment.

"I want to say vamos, nothing more, in this moment," he said. "Everyone enjoy, also. When you win the first cup for the club, it's amazing, so it's a great moment and I want to say vamos.

"I say such a different thing, but it's funny. If someone feel bad for this I say sorry, but it isn't the way I want to say vamos."

Fornaroli said it was a genuine mistake made with the emotion of the big win swirling inside him.

"In this moment it's difficult to speak, because you have the game inside," he said. "You are crazy for the moment, but I say again it's not something bad."

Key A-League officials were gradually making their way back to Sydney from Melbourne on Thursday, which made it difficult for them to come to a resolution on the Fornaroli matter.

But a decision on a penalty is expected on Friday.

The World Game understands that while it is quite possible Fornaroli will be fined, he is unlikely to be suspended.

AAMI Park is getting a reputation as the scene for presentations-gone-wrong after big football matches.

The venue was the scene for former FFA chairman Frank Lowy's nasty fall from the stage after Melbourne Victory had beaten Sydney FC in the A-League grand final in May, 2015.
Lowy, who was 84 at the time, missed a step on the stage as he and FFA CEO David Gallop reached for the trophy to present it to then Victory captain Mark Milligan.

He cannoned off the edge of the stage and went head-first into the turf.

Officials rushed to assist Lowy and after he was able to sit up on the turf and recover well enough he was assisted back on to the stage and helped complete the presentation, complete with a green grass stain in his white hair.


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3 min read
Published 1 December 2016 6:15pm
By Greg Prichard


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