But when Juric approached Sydney FC to seek permission to return to NPL coaching this season with Sydney United, the club says it reluctantly agreed on two conditions: one, that his commitment to Sydney’s women would always take precedence in any schedule clashes with the NPL, and two, that he would not coach against Sydney FC in any competition at any level.

This has got nothing to do with betting. So don’t hide behind betting. It’s all to do with ego and control.

Sydney United 58 chairman Mark Ivancic

That includes in the NPL; when Sydney FC’s youth team faced Sydney United earlier this season, Juric didn’t sit on the bench.

These clauses were added to Juric’s contract, according to Sydney FC chief executive Mark Aubrey, after concerns were raised by some of their women’s players about him splitting his time between the two teams when the seasons cross over.

“All parties agreed to it. He agreed to it,” said Aubrey.

“Frankly, we did this as a favour to [Juric]. The idea that it’s being kind of weaponised in a way against us to kind of say, ‘Hey, we agreed to this, but now we want to change the goalposts’ … it’s pretty poor form, to be honest.

“They’ve got very firm views on this. Sydney United can spin this any way they like, but we’ve got a Sydney FC coach coaching against Sydney FC. It’s an unquestionable conflict of interest. And it is simply just not a risk that Sydney FC will take. The optics of that are just horrible.”

The conflicts are both perceived and real, Aubrey stressed, especially when there are worldwide betting markets on the Australia Cup.

But Ivancic isn’t buying that argument. Especially since, not so long ago, Sydney FC had common ownership with A-League rivals Newcastle Jets; former chairman Scott Barlow had gone in with other club chairman to keep the Hunter club alive for several years after the club’s previous owner Martin Lee was punted for not paying his bills.

“So it’s OK for the owner to be on the board of the A-League, to be an owner of Sydney FC and an owner of Newcastle,” Ivancic said.

“This has got nothing to do with betting. So don’t hide behind betting. It’s all to do with ego and control.

“I had a long chat with Mark Aubrey yesterday morning … during that whole conversation, betting did not come up once. I’m sure he’s gone away and they’ve tried to find a better reason for preventing Ante.

“I can only see what he’s doing and what they’re doing as trying to interfere in the outcome of the game. Why stoop to this? What’s the purpose? Because I can see no reason.”

Juric was contacted for comment.

Ivancic said there was a simple solution for Sydney FC, if they didn’t want Juric to take on extra jobs: give him a full-time contract.

“Then he’s not having to take another part-time job to feed himself,” he said. “The guy’s got three jobs. Why don’t they give him a full-time job?”

Aubrey said he hoped to be able to do that “sooner rather than later” as the A-League Women continues to professionalise.

Sydney FC’s men’s coach Ufuk Talay sidestepped the issue at his press conference on Thursday morning, saying it was “irrelevant” to their preparations for the match. He was more concerned with the artificial surface at Edensor Park, which will be an added challenge to his players on top of the famously hostile atmosphere they’ll be subjected to from the home fans.

The Sky Blues will again be without marquee star Douglas Costa, who remains in Brazil sorting through personal issues, but Talay is hopeful he will be back on deck in the coming days and weeks.

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Meanwhile, Talay said he was disappointed to have missed out on the signature of Costa’s former Bayern Munich teammate Thomas Müller, who has been unveiled by Major League Soccer outfit Vancouver Whitecaps.

As revealed by this masthead, the Sky Blues were the only other option being considered by the 35-year-old, who it’s believed was swayed by the greater off-field opportunities available to him in North America in the lead-up to next year’s World Cup.