The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) have rejected Melbourne Victory's request to have a potential semifinal with Adelaide United moved back to cater for the club's midweek AFC Champions League commitments.
A heated scheduling conflict has broken out between Melbourne Victory, FFA and Adelaide over Victory's failed attempt to have a potential semifinal moved.
While Victory still need to beat Brisbane to book a spot in next Friday's semifinal against Adelaide at Coopers Stadium, they have been lobbying FFA for nearly a week to have the fixture postponed.
Should Victory overcome the Roar on Friday, they would be faced with playing Shanghai SIPG in China in their ACL match on Tuesday before backing up three days later to face the Reds.
Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) argue that would breach "the fundamental principles of competitive fairness and player wellbeing" because the gap between games falls two hours short of the minimum 72-hour break stipulated by the governing body.
But FFA flat-out rejected Victory's request, rebuffing the notion that player welfare is at stake.
It asserted that all clubs had agreed to the scheduling protocols after being presented with academic research during preseason, stating three days is sufficient for athlete recovery and travel of less than 10 hours has little effect on performance.
"Player welfare is a top priority in scheduling matches and we look very carefully at each case," head of A-League Damien de Bohun said.
"In the case of the finals series, there are long-standing arrangements about the schedule and protocols that attach to each position on the table.
"Where there are no venue availability issues, the top team plays the first semifinal -- that's what's happening this year with Adelaide United."
Adelaide have met the issue with disdain, with chairman Greg Griffin "refusing to discuss" the matter with PFA.
He labelled it "absurd" that Victory would expect the Reds to change a finals fixture and forego the advantages they'd earned as Premiers Plate winners.
Both the club and FFA also view a scheduling change as untenable -- with 14,000 tickets already sold and broadcast schedules locked in.
PFA argue players should be entitled to a full 72 hours' recovery between matches not including travel.
The union also called on negotiations to begin with the Asian Football Confederation about the possibility of only drawing A-League teams for home ACL matches during the finals series.
"The current scheduling raises doubts not only about player wellbeing but also penalises clubs for being successful," interim PFA chairman Craig Foster said.