'Terrible situation': Football community 'desperately sorry' over A-League club's demise

The football community has expressed dismay over the revocation of Western United's A-League licence as uncertainty hangs over employees of the club.

The Melbourne-based A-League club said it was "bitterly disappointed" after its licence was pulled as its faced financial issues since claiming the 2021/2022 A-League Men title.

A FIFA ban hangs over the club due to a dispute with a former Western United player, Aleksandar Prijovic, stopping them from registering new players. The club is also reportedly in financial turmoil.

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The club has eight days to appeal the decision.

Football Australia's first instance board, an independent body in charge of licensing, has effectively booted Western United out of the A-Leagues due to its various issues, putting a planned takeover by American investors in jeopardy.

Western United's men's players are in preseason, while its women's program is in the off-season stage.

They are receiving support from the players' union, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA).

The news sparked a wave of commentary from different voices in the game, with the overlying theme being disappointment.

Former Socceroo John Aloisi, who guided Western United to 2022 A-League grand final glory told The Sydney Morning Herald he's "devastated" over the decision.

Australian Professional Leagues executive chairman Stephen Conroy confirmed the "withdrawal" of Western United's licence.

"This is an FA, AFC and regulatory process, and we won't comment further until the regulatory process and any appeal have been completed," he said.

Western United addressed the news on Friday and confirmed an appeal process was in the works.

"The club will be exercising its right to appeal the decision immediately, with confidence of a positive outcome as the sale of the club and injection of capital from KAM Melbourne continues to progress," a statement read.

"We wish to assure every single member, supporter and the broader Australian football public that we will fight for our club with the same spirit, belief and resilience that has defined us from the very beginning.

"We will continue to stand together as we have done in the face of adversity in the past, and we will exhaust every avenue to continue being able to represent our community with pride.

"As this is a regulatory process, the Club will be making no further comment at this time."

If the club fails to get a stay of execution, it will become an extraordinary case study after being added to the A-Leagues via the competition's expansion in the 2019/20 season.

Just two years later, Socceroos defender and club captain of the 2021/22 Western United team, Josh Risdon, was lifting the A-League Men's trophy after beating local rivals Melbourne City 2-0 in the grand final. Alongside Risdon, that team featured fellow internationals Lachlan Wales, Connor Pain and Neil Kilkenny.

Three years on, and the club looks to be headed for extinction.