Australian soccer says no inquiry into firing of Stajcic


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BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop says there won't be an inquiry into the controversial firing of former national women's coach Alen Stajcic.

Stajcic called for an investigation, saying that his January termination was without cause just five months before the women's World Cup in France.

The FFA fired Stajcic following an internal review which they claimed revealed a "toxic" team culture. Stajcic has denied the allegations.

Sitting alongside Stajcic's replacement Ante Milicic at a media conference on Thursday, Gallop said the FFA board was happy with the decision it had taken.

"The board has said they have made a decision," Gallop said. "There won't be a review of the decision."

Milicic will begin his World Cup preparations at this month's Cup of Nations where the Matildas will play New Zealand, South Korea and Argentina in Australia.

Despite the worries about the team's culture, Milicic said he hasn't been made aware of the exact reasons for Stajcic's sacking which Gallop said must remain confidential.

"Hard decisions are difficult. This has been particularly difficult. I acknowledge that," Milicic said. "This is a situation where people have supplied information on a certain basis. It's not within our authority to change that basis."

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