Brisbane Roar apologises to kit supplier after Asian Champions League farce

Brisbane Roar have apologised to their fans and kit supplier after being knocked out of the Asian Champions League (ACL) last night.

Playing in an ACL group-stage qualifier against Filipino minnow Ceres-Negros - only in the second week of the Philippines' preseason - the Roar contrived to lose 3-2 at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre, in front of just 1,279 fans.

The loss came amid farcical scenes, with three Roar players' shirt numbers peeling off midway through the second half.

Eric Bautheac, Jamie Young and Ivan Franjic all had numbers on the back of their kits peeling off, with Bautheac ordered off the pitch to sort his number out, leaving the Roar to play on with 10 men for a five-minute period.

Bautheac (number 22) tried to wear the number 30 as a stopgap measure, but was only let on when he grabbed another shirt with 77 (Ivan Franjic's back-up top), with tape tacked on in a slap-dash tribute to the idea of the number 22.

With fans blaming kit supplier Umbro for the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ on social media, responsibility would appear to sit with whoever the Roar designated to apply the squad numbers.

As a result, the club issued a statement advising “Brisbane Roar FC is very disappointed to have been knocked out of the AFC Asian Champions League 2018 competition last night.

“The club understands the result against Ceres Negros FC was disappointing and the performance was unacceptable.

“We have always worn our orange jersey with pride.

“Last night, our club disappointed many people and embarrassed ourselves with the presentation of numbering on our orange jersey. This was of no fault of BRFC kit manufacturer Umbro and we are unreservedly apologetic.

“BRFC would like to assure its members, supporters, partners and the local football community that we are fully committed to improving both on and off the field.”

In the statement, Roar Managing Director David Pourre advised "Brisbane Roar FC respects the right of individuals who support the club to express their dissatisfaction with the current situation.

"We must, and we will continue to strive for the high standards expected of our club."

At a challenging time for the A-League former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich condemned the scenes at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre.

Commenting on Fox Sports, Bosnich stated “on behalf of Australian football, I'd like to apologise because that was truly embarrassing.

"I just said then, congratulations to Ceres-Negros, we saw how much it meant to them to win this game.

"Well, we saw how much that meant to Brisbane with that farcical episode about the jerseys.

"Not even when I was a junior playing under-10s here in Sydney. That was just absolutely ridiculous.”

Image: Numbers peel off the back of Eric Beautheac's Brisbane Roar shirt. Courtesy of Damian Briggs Photography.

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