Star attraction Leigh Griffiths' new club in Australia were forced to refund their own fans after being threatened with a points deduction for overcharging for tickets ahead of the former Celtic and Scotland star's debut.
Griffiths scored in his first game for Mandurah City in a win against Western Knights before he hobbled off injured. The 32-year-old signed a short term deal with the Aussie minnows who play in a regional league. Mandurah City initially raised their usual prices of six Australian dollars (£3.50) to 20 Australian dollars (£11.70), which caused a major backlash Down Under. League bosses - Football West - told the club that unless they reduced priced to usual levels, they would be faced with a points deduction and a big fine and Mandurah City performed a u-turn and refunded fans who had bought tickets at the inflated price to see the ex- Celtic star.
The club's president Nigel Mann explained: "It was never our club’s intention to cause any distress or to price supporters out of attending the game. Like all clubs, we operate on small budgets and had hoped to raise much-needed funds to help support our junior and senior teams moving into the future. Leigh playing for us is not only an exciting opportunity for this football club and for West Australian grassroots football, but it also highlights what we can achieve together as a football community."
Former Scotland star Griffiths said before the game he was excited about his new challenge. He said: "I am definitely interested in a move to Australia. I always said, the last two or three years, that maybe it’s time to expand out of Scotland and try other avenues.
"Australia’s up and coming now with a lot of players moving over here to explore the league so yeah I’m looking forward to it.”
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