DICK Advocaat, the Rangers manager, yesterday launched a furious attack on international coach Frank Farina after hearing that the Australian national side set a world record by beating Tonga 22-0 in a World Cup qualifying game.
Rangers players Craig Moore and Tony Vidmar, who had just returned from injury, were both ordered to travel for four qualifying matches against weak Pacific Island opposition, a decision that angered the Ibrox manager at the weekend.
His temper was tested already by the fact that some English clubs were allowed to keep their Aussie internationalists at home, but the 22-0 scoreline has left him even more incensed.
Most of Australia's leading players, including strikers Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, of Leeds United, and Australian captain Paul Okon, a midfielder with Middlesbrough, were unavailable for the qualifiers.
Moore and Vidmar will now play American Samoa, who are rated much worse than Tonga, then Fiji and Samoa. Said Advocaat: ''It says enough about the stupidity of the situation when a team is winning 22-0, and the annoying thing is that the Australian manager clearly does not need all of his overseas players to win a game like that.
''The worst aspect is that he is applying one rule to certain clubs and a different rule to other clubs.Why is it that Rangers and Coventry City have to supply their players to the Australian national team and yet Middlesbrough and Manchester City do not? I would like Mr Farina to answer that.
''You can't do that as a manager. You can't make decisions like that because it's not right. It is the final part of the season and every club needs all of their players, not just some clubs.''
Advocaat went on: ''The American coach, Bruce Arena, is doing a good job. He always tries to play his matches at the same time as the European qualifying matches. It's not always possible, but at least he is trying. He knows the situation.
''The strange thing is that Farina played in Europe, so he knows what happens here, but these problems will always exist when the rules favour the national teams. I don't think it is right that everything is to the advantage of the country and not the club, but that's the way it is and we will have to get on with it.''
Moore and Vidmar will miss tomorrow's game at Kilmarnock and the match at Dundee on April 21, but they will be back in time for the Old Firm game on April 29, although Moore reckons he could lose his Ibrox place as
a result of the trip across the world.
''The gaffer started the ball rolling by making his displeasure clear, but, at the end of the
day, he knows it is out of our
control.
''Obviously, decisions are made that will upset people and it will be hard for us when we go back as there are many people pushing for positions in the side.
''You don't just walk into the first team at Rangers and this makes it more difficult to get in when you leave. But I also feel that once you have been selected it's a great honour to play for your country, and it is not our fault about the teams we play to get through the qualifiers.''
Australia took just four minutes to go one up and by half-time were 10-0 ahead.
So desperate were Tonga to keep the score down that their restarts after each goal featured just one player booting the ball down the pitch from the kick-off. Australia went on to rattle up 22 goals, including a Vidmar strike, while striker John Aloisi, of Coventry, scored six goals.
A spokesman for FIFA, world football's ruling body, said the previous record victory in an international was China's 20-0 defeat of Bhutan in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2000.
The previous record for a World Cup qualifier was held by Iran, who beat Guam 19-0 in Asia's first round of World Cup qualifying in Tehran last October.
The FIFA spokesman said there were ''rumours'' that Libya had beaten Oman 21-0 in an international in 1966, but this was unconfirmed.
9.4.2001 Coffs HarbourWQTonga 0 Australia 22
14.2.2000Kuwait City CC Kuwait 20 Bhutan 0
26.1.2000Ho Chi Minh City CC China PR 19 Guam 0
24.11.2000TabrizWQIran 19 Guam 0
8.6.2000PapeeteCC Tahiti18 American Samoa 0
2.6.1997DamascusWQ Maldives 0 Iran 17
19.6.2000PapeeteCC Australia 17 Cook Islands 0
28.9.1998BrisbaneCC Australia 16 Cook Islands 0
26.11.2000TabrizWQ Tajikistan 16 Guam 0
11.6.1997SydneyWQ Australia 13 Solomon Islands 0
7.4.2001 Coffs HarbourWQ Fiji 13 American Samoa 0
WQ = World Cup Qualifier; CC = Continental Championship
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