[Australia] (Official) League Specific Issues

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

Please post any specific issues for Australia competitions here. This is for any issue which does not relate to data and is for areas such as:

- Competition Rules (Leagues and Cups)
- Disciplinary Rules
- Transfer Rules

We would request you all to adhere to the following three point plan when posting in here:

- State what you think is specifically wrong in your league.
- State how you think it should be working.
- State reasons/proof for your corrections/improvements.

Please note that specific data issues for Australia should be posted in the Database and Research Issues forum.

[stinger061]

The A-League start date in game is correctly moved to late December however it seem the transfer and registration dates have not been changed to suit this.

As it stands the registration window closes on the 12th October, a full 2 and a half months before the season starts which is obviously an issue for signing new players. Likewise default player contracts are scheduled to end before the season is actually over. The contract end dates were right for the previous season schedule but with the changes the season now runs beyond the old end date for player contracts.

The December start for the A-League is planned to be a permanent change and not just as a result of Covid-19 so I assume this will be a problem beyond the first season also.

Edited November 11, 2020 by stinger061

[Thrasky]

Playing as Brisbane Roar in the A-League 

Players who are signed on Scholarship Contracts are being not updated in the Squad registration screen.

Also no tool tip explaining what a Scholarship Contract is

[Mathew Cheeseman]

A bug which also existed in FM20 related to the minimum wage of a player over the age of 21. If a player is already on a contract worth more than the minimum amount (A$64k pa), then once then reach the age of 21 their contract is reduced down to that value. By example, here is a player who I gave a new contract to specifically to test this valued at A$90k pa, and then upon turning 21 on 04/01/2021, his contract reduced down to A$64k pa the following day.

[Mathew Cheeseman]

New game start dates are currently listed as 07/12/2020 for early pre-season and 21/12/2020 for both late pre-season and start of season, however each team has scheduled (and played) friendlies from early October. Should the two pre-season start dates not be earlier in the year?

[Mathew Cheeseman]

Substitution rules for the 2020/21 A-League season will likely continue following the temporary amendments to Law 3, allowing for five substitutions to be used from three substitution opportunities during a match (excluding half time). I say likely, because we should be confirming this information in the next week or so, but one to have on the radar. This will then revert back to the normal three substitutions for the 2021/22 season onwards.

Note: I am the Referees Manager at Football Federation Australia, and happy to provide further information when this and other competition rule changes are confirmed.

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

9 hours ago, Mathew Cheeseman said:

Substitution rules for the 2020/21 A-League season will likely continue following the temporary amendments to Law 3, allowing for five substitutions to be used from three substitution opportunities during a match (excluding half time). I say likely, because we should be confirming this information in the next week or so, but one to have on the radar. This will then revert back to the normal three substitutions for the 2021/22 season onwards.

Note: I am the Referees Manager at Football Federation Australia, and happy to provide further information when this and other competition rule changes are confirmed.

Thank you, this is logged and under review. Whenever this is formally announced, please let us know and we will add that information too  

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

12 hours ago, Mathew Cheeseman said:

A bug which also existed in FM20 related to the minimum wage of a player over the age of 21. If a player is already on a contract worth more than the minimum amount (A$64k pa), then once then reach the age of 21 their contract is reduced down to that value. By example, here is a player who I gave a new contract to specifically to test this valued at A$90k pa, and then upon turning 21 on 04/01/2021, his contract reduced down to A$64k pa the following day.

Thank you, this is with our team and is under review.

[Redmundo]

After signing new players, I removed players previously registered in my 1st team squad, intending to list them for loan or transfer, but they were all immediately automatically offered & accepted contract releases (with a pay out). I played no part in these decisions to offer contract released.

[tomberrington]

New rule changes state that teams will play 0 games over the course of the season. Other proposed rule changes don't appear to be different? Not a massive issue but still a bit strange!

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

1 hour ago, tomberrington said:

New rule changes state that teams will play 0 games over the course of the season. Other proposed rule changes don't appear to be different? Not a massive issue but still a bit strange!

Could you please provide a save file to the SI Cloud Server using the instructions attached below and we'll look into this. Thanks

 

 

[17stockeret1]

A-League Salary Cap has not been updated - now $2.1 Million AUD. Although this has not been stated on official websites it has become common knowledge in the media: 

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league-clubs-and-pfa-reach-payment-deal#:~:text=The World Game understands the,a new collective bargaining agreement.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/the-silver-lining-to-the-a-league-s-bleak-financial-situation-20201027-p5694d.html

https://www.a-league.com.au/news/around-grounds-corica-wants-new-striker-glory-sign-international-defender-ex-premier-league

Steve Corica (Manager of Sydney FC) has stated in the above article that the salary cap has dropped.

 

Designated Player System seems incorrect - Currently you are required to sign a player on a contract type specified as 'designated'. In reality, surely clubs are able to nominate designated players in registration periods to allow for more flexibility? I have no solid proof on this but the wording on the a-league website seems to indicate that designated players can be nominated rather than signed on to specified 'designated' contracts. I have heard of players being signed on back-ended two year deals where the first year is inside the cap and the second year is outside - Ola Toivoinen was on this type of deal I believe.

https://www.a-league.com.au/salary-cap-system#:~:text=Designated Players – A Club can,criteria as approved by FFA.

[alian62]

• A-League and Westfield W-League 2020/21 seasons to kick-off on Sunday 27 December 2020 

Prob not in time for the BETA version but then why is it showing 2.5 months off in the middle of a season 

 

[Stephen Glennon]

8 hours ago, alian62 said:

• A-League and Westfield W-League 2020/21 seasons to kick-off on Sunday 27 December 2020 

Prob not in time for the BETA version but then why is it showing 2.5 months off in the middle of a season 

 

I'm guessing that that's for the 2022 World Cup. Could you check and make sure?

[gmcker]

9 hours ago, Stephen Glennon said:

I'm guessing that that's for the 2022 World Cup. Could you check and make sure?

 

17 hours ago, alian62 said:

• A-League and Westfield W-League 2020/21 seasons to kick-off on Sunday 27 December 2020 

Prob not in time for the BETA version but then why is it showing 2.5 months off in the middle of a season 

 

World Cup. And even though we know the FFA want to play the 2022 season as a calendar year comp, they haven't officially announced it and probably can't until a broadcasting partner is secured. 

[Thrasky]

On 11/11/2020 at 11:36, Thrasky said:

Playing as Brisbane Roar in the A-League 

Players who are signed on Scholarship Contracts are being not updated in the Squad registration screen.

Also no tool tip explaining what a Scholarship Contract is

I did more investigation on this according to https://www.a-league.com.au/salary-cap-system

• Scholarship Players – Each Club can contract up to 9 under 20 Australian Players on the national minimum wage. Any payments above the national minimum wage to these Players are included in the Club’s Salary Cap;

 

• Teams can spend an unlimited amount on 4 U-23 Australian players who have come from the youth team, called Homegrown Players. Teams can sign up to 9 U-20 players on minimum wage called Scholarship Players who don't count in the squad unless they are one of the 3 U21's in the squad.^[80]

 

As of now all Scholarship players are being included in the player Squad when 9 should be  excluded. 

[munas23]

Hi,

It looks like Melbourne City Youth doesn't compete in the Youth League. Just friendlies

[netslave]

Playing Melbourne Victory and Just had my first youth intake and signed 4 high potential players.  There was no option to sign them on a Youth contract, only Full or Scholarship contracts. So I signed them on Scholarship contracts.  As soon as the Transfer Window closes some of these players leave as they have not been included in the first team registration.

It appears as though the young Scholarship players expect to be registered and play for the first team, I hope this is not intended behaviour?

edit: from A-League website

At all times during the Season, a Club’s Hyundai A-League Player Roster must have:

a minimum of 20 Players;

a maximum of 23 Players;

a minimum of 2 Goalkeepers;

a minimum of 3 Australian Players aged 21 or under;

and a maximum of five foreign players.

Guest Players sit outside the Club’s Hyundai A-League Player Roster. Players on a Club’s Foxtel Y-League Player Roster, including Scholarship Players, are also eligible to participate in the Hyundai A-League.

Edited November 20, 2020 by netslave
clarify

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

11 hours ago, munas23 said:

Hi,

It looks like Melbourne City Youth doesn't compete in the Youth League. Just friendlies

Thanks, this is now logged and under review.

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

2 hours ago, netslave said:

Playing Melbourne Victory and Just had my first youth intake and signed 4 high potential players.  There was no option to sign them on a Youth contract, only Full or Scholarship contracts. So I signed them on Scholarship contracts.  As soon as the Transfer Window closes some of these players leave as they have not been included in the first team registration.

It appears as though the young Scholarship players expect to be registered and play for the first team, I hope this is not intended behaviour?

edit: from A-League website

At all times during the Season, a Club’s Hyundai A-League Player Roster must have:

a minimum of 20 Players;

a maximum of 23 Players;

a minimum of 2 Goalkeepers;

a minimum of 3 Australian Players aged 21 or under;

and a maximum of five foreign players.

Guest Players sit outside the Club’s Hyundai A-League Player Roster. Players on a Club’s Foxtel Y-League Player Roster, including Scholarship Players, are also eligible to participate in the Hyundai A-League.

Do you have a save file where these players are released at the point at which they aren't registered? If you have a save file just before confirming the squad and these players are released, please upload it using the instructions attached below:

 

 

[netslave]

>Do you have a save file where these players are released at the point at which they aren't registered? If you have a save file just before confirming the squad and these players are released, please upload it using the instructions attached below:

File uploaded to SICloud as Melbourne Victory_1.fm

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

12 hours ago, netslave said:

>Do you have a save file where these players are released at the point at which they aren't registered? If you have a save file just before confirming the squad and these players are released, please upload it using the instructions attached below:

File uploaded to SICloud as Melbourne Victory_1.fm

Thanks, this is with our team and under review.

[Grimario]

On 11/11/2020 at 11:34, stinger061 said:

The A-League start date in game is correctly moved to late December however it seem the transfer and registration dates have not been changed to suit this.

As it stands the registration window closes on the 12th October, a full 2 and a half months before the season starts which is obviously an issue for signing new players. Likewise default player contracts are scheduled to end before the season is actually over. The contract end dates were right for the previous season schedule but with the changes the season now runs beyond the old end date for player contracts.

The December start for the A-League is planned to be a permanent change and not just as a result of Covid-19 so I assume this will be a problem beyond the first season also.

Has this been added as an issue under review yet or even fixed already? The A-League is essentially unplayable in current state. Almost 20 players released before the finals in season 1. Currently 76 (84 total including my club not in scouting list) players with 31st May expiry in season 2 and with some listed for transfer, they are definitely not getting re-signed and will be released on that day. 

Happy to upload a save if needed however it is easily replicated by loading A-League as playable and looking at every contract. They are all set to 31/5/2xxx.

[munas23]

On 21/11/2020 at 02:53, Sebastian Szlenkier said:

Thanks, this is now logged and under review.

Hey Sebastian,

Actually noticed Western Sydney are not playing games either. 

Do we have rough dates for when this could be fixed, as in a week or a month, just makes the A league and Australia hard to play when arguably the two best youth teams does get to play games to develop.

Thanks in advance 

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

Just now, munas23 said:

Hey Sebastian,

Actually noticed Western Sydney are not playing games either. 

Do we have rough dates for when this could be fixed, as in a week or a month, just makes the A league and Australia hard to play when arguably the two best youth teams does get to play games to develop.

Thanks in advance 

We're afraid we can't announce anything firmly but I can assure we're working on this to ensure that the correct 10 teams take part in the Youth Cup. This will in that case solve both issues raised regarding Melbourne City youth and Western Sydney as they are both one of the ten teams to take part in this youth competition.

[munas23]

21 hours ago, Sebastian Szlenkier said:

We're afraid we can't announce anything firmly but I can assure we're working on this to ensure that the correct 10 teams take part in the Youth Cup. This will in that case solve both issues raised regarding Melbourne City youth and Western Sydney as they are both one of the ten teams to take part in this youth competition.

Thanks Sebastian,

I'm guessing after the expansion it might be 12 teams this year.

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

1 hour ago, munas23 said:

Thanks Sebastian,

I'm guessing after the expansion it might be 12 teams this year.

We're going based on the previous teams that were in the tournament as we haven't heard anything different. Plus, not all team in the A-League were previously represented in the Youth League anyway so it's not certain that this will change anyway.

[uke2nv]

This bug seems to happen every year. Since the A-League is so broken, I often use the in-game editor to update squads every season to make them realistic.

Again, this year I am noticing that when you go to move players to clubs, every time you do so 1-2 players get released on a free transfer. When you then go to move them back into the team, it either won't let you move them back and they stay as free agent or if it does let you move them back, that will then cause another 1-2 players to get released on a free transfer.

It is so frustrating because the in game editor is the only thing that makes A-League playable and realistic (albeit with constant maintenance).

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

On 28/11/2020 at 03:11, uke2nv said:

This bug seems to happen every year. Since the A-League is so broken, I often use the in-game editor to update squads every season to make them realistic.

Again, this year I am noticing that when you go to move players to clubs, every time you do so 1-2 players get released on a free transfer. When you then go to move them back into the team, it either won't let you move them back and they stay as free agent or if it does let you move them back, that will then cause another 1-2 players to get released on a free transfer.

It is so frustrating because the in game editor is the only thing that makes A-League playable and realistic (albeit with constant maintenance).

Thanks for raising this. Could you please provide a save file and give us an example of this using the instructions in the link attached below? Thank you! 

 

 

[uke2nv]

9 hours ago, Sebastian Szlenkier said:

Thanks for raising this. Could you please provide a save file and give us an example of this using the instructions in the link attached below? Thank you! 

 

 

Summary: When moving players to A-League clubs using in-game editor, it will automatically terminate other squad members contracts and make them available on Free Transfer

Description of Issue:  I am noticing that when you go to move players to clubs, every time you do so 1-2 players get released on a free transfer. When you then go to move them back into the team, it either won't let you move them back and they stay as free agent or if it does let you move them back, that will then cause another 1-2 players to get released on a free transfer.

Steps to Reproduce: Move 2-3 players to any A-League club using in-game editor and see how many players get released each time.

Files Uploaded to the OwnCloud: Mark Manson - Unemployed (v02).fm

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

10 hours ago, uke2nv said:

Summary: When moving players to A-League clubs using in-game editor, it will automatically terminate other squad members contracts and make them available on Free Transfer

Description of Issue:  I am noticing that when you go to move players to clubs, every time you do so 1-2 players get released on a free transfer. When you then go to move them back into the team, it either won't let you move them back and they stay as free agent or if it does let you move them back, that will then cause another 1-2 players to get released on a free transfer.

Steps to Reproduce: Move 2-3 players to any A-League club using in-game editor and see how many players get released each time.

Files Uploaded to the OwnCloud: Mark Manson - Unemployed (v02).fm

This is not something we've been able to reproduce. However, we will keep an eye on this and let you know if we're able to reproduce this. When following your description above, this was not something we were able to reproduce.

[uke2nv]

You won't see the players appear in the Transfers Out. You will simply see them missing from the squad. Try moving 2-3 players of 120 or so current ability to an A-League team and you will see what I mean.

[uke2nv]

20 hours ago, Sebastian Szlenkier said:

This is not something we've been able to reproduce. However, we will keep an eye on this and let you know if we're able to reproduce this. When following your description above, this was not something we were able to reproduce.

I have attached screenshots to explain. I hope the below makes sense. You can try this method with ANY A-League team and the same thing happens.

 

 

1. This is the full squad before I randomly move 2 players to this team using the In-Game Editor. Matty Pearson and Luiz Paulo (who is on loan) are both highlighted as after I moved my 2 random players over, these 2 were released on free transfer.

 

 

 

2. After adding my 2 random players ( Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Alejandro Cabeza) notice how Luiz Paulo & Matty Pearson disappear from the squad.
 

 

 

3. When navigating to Transfers screen, they don't appear as being released as Free Transfer.

 

4. But as you can see, Matty Pearson for example, is now a free agent after I moved those other 2 players into the team.

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by uke2nv

[Supermercado99]

I've noticed A-League teams buying players for low prices then instantly releasing them on free transfers the same day. I know this isn't conclusive because there's no dates but take my word for it.

I'm playing with an edited database but there have been no changes at all to the A-League or its rules. 

So I thought I'd just add him back with the in-game editor and without even clicking forward a day he'd been dumped again

Might be related to the issue reported above. It doesn't make any sense because Adelaide only have one senior goalkeeper and are now fielding a greyed out player as their backup.

This isn't the first player that it's happened to.

[uke2nv]

14 minutes ago, Supermercado99 said:

I've noticed A-League teams buying players for low prices then instantly releasing them on free transfers the same day. I know this isn't conclusive because there's no dates but take my word for it.

I'm playing with an edited database but there have been no changes at all to the A-League or its rules. 

So I thought I'd just add him back with the in-game editor and without even clicking forward a day he'd been dumped again

Might be related to the issue reported above. It doesn't make any sense because Adelaide only have one senior goalkeeper and are now fielding a greyed out player as their backup.

This isn't the first player that it's happened to.

Yes, I have also noticed this. I have also noticed sometimes when you go to move a free agent player to an A-League club using the in-game editor, it will register in there playing history as having played for the club, but it doesn't actually move them into the squad.

[Supermercado99]

On 05/12/2020 at 00:56, uke2nv said:

Yes, I have also noticed this. I have also noticed sometimes when you go to move a free agent player to an A-League club using the in-game editor, it will register in there playing history as having played for the club, but it doesn't actually move them into the squad.

Just had another one right then. $5.5k transfer fee and instantly a free agent. Tried to move him to a different A-League team in the in-game editor and it didn't take. Sent him to an NPL side instead and it was fine. You can edit them to the A-League team's NPL side and that will work for at least having them under contract to the right club.

Update - also just had a player signed by Newcastle for $23k, free transferred on the same day then signed by Melbourne City the same day. 

Another update - It looks like when the A-League clubs buy these players in July/August they stick with the side, but after that they are automatically free transferred.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Supermercado99

[uke2nv]

On 04/12/2020 at 02:04, Sebastian Szlenkier said:

This is not something we've been able to reproduce. However, we will keep an eye on this and let you know if we're able to reproduce this. When following your description above, this was not something we were able to reproduce.

See above responses. Can we get these looked at please?

I think it may have something to do with salary cap, but i don't see this issue with any other salary capped leagues in FM

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

14 hours ago, uke2nv said:

See above responses. Can we get these looked at please?

I think it may have something to do with salary cap, but i don't see this issue with any other salary capped leagues in FM

For the teams that you are moving players to, do they already have the max of 23 players? When looking into this, these players seemed to get arbitrarily released when the team that they were getting moved to had already reached the maximum players on their roster when checking on their Registration page. 

[Thrasky]

Any update on when the registration of scholarship players is going to get fixed? 

[uke2nv]

11 hours ago, Sebastian Szlenkier said:

For the teams that you are moving players to, do they already have the max of 23 players? When looking into this, these players seemed to get arbitrarily released when the team that they were getting moved to had already reached the maximum players on their roster when checking on their Registration page. 

I have seen it happen even when squad size isn't maxed out. 

[uke2nv]

Unsure why this is only the case for A-League teams when other similarly capped squads in the game dont cause the same issue.

It's been an issue for years, makes playing A-League frustrating

[Supermercado99]

If they moved the players to their NPL side (where valid) I wouldn't have an issue, but it's wrong that a player is seen as good enough to be signed by the A-League then instantly left a free agent. Now I manually check transfers at the end of each window and IGE the players back to the NPL squads of the club that bought/released them. 

[Supermercado99]

Confirmed this is happening with AI domestic transfers as well.

 

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

Thanks, we're trying to get this pinned down. If there's any additional information or a consistently reproducible example, please let us know. 

[Supermercado99]

I know it's not organic but if move a player to an A-League team via the in-game editor from January-May and odds are they'll be immediately released. Seems like there's something missing in the transfer logic where they try to buy players that they aren't allowed to have. I'm still finding off-season (Australian summer) transfers are ok.

[musha_13]

On 12/12/2020 at 23:57, Supermercado99 said:

I know it's not organic but if move a player to an A-League team via the in-game editor from January-May and odds are they'll be immediately released. Seems like there's something missing in the transfer logic where they try to buy players that they aren't allowed to have. I'm still finding off-season (Australian summer) transfers are ok.

This has been an issue for a few versions - AI clubs sign too many players (or too many internationals) and only realise after they have signed that they can't register them, hence the immediate release. 

Possibly removing the auto release when someone doesn't make the registered squad might be better than we have now? 

[Sebastian Szlenkier]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:57, Supermercado99 said:

I know it's not organic but if move a player to an A-League team via the in-game editor from January-May and odds are they'll be immediately released. Seems like there's something missing in the transfer logic where they try to buy players that they aren't allowed to have. I'm still finding off-season (Australian summer) transfers are ok.

Thanks, we believe we have managed to reproduce this and are looking into this. 

 

@musha_13 if you have any examples of situations where an AI club  attempts to sign players that they should not please let us know and please upload a save file to the SI Cloud server just before any  transfer is made by an SI club.  You can do so using the instructions in the link attached below. Otherwise, we will keep an eye on this. Thanks. 

 

 

[Symmo22]

I’ve no idea if this is league specific Or not but I’m playing as Perth Glory in 2027. We’re in the QF of the ACL, yet all my squad are on holiday when the game arrives. 

[Monkeysam24]

Hello!

I am trying to do a Australian A-League save and I have found that there is no second season games organised for the A-League, nor does the first season have a grand final.

Any help would be much appreciated. 

[Monkeysam24]

Summary: I am trying to do a Australian A-League save and I have found that there is no second season games organised for the A-League, nor does the first season have a grand final.

Description of Issue:  When loading a save with the A-League selected as a playable league the rules for the next season show that the teams will play each other zero times.

Steps to Reproduce: Load a save with the A-League as a playable league

Files Uploaded to the OwnCloud - ALeagueNoFixtures

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Monkeysam24