New Zealand Football (NZF) chief executive Michael Glading is disappointed All White Rory Fallon and his English football club opted to go public with ill-informed comments about the striker's travel plans this week.
Fallon's club Plymouth Argyle protested NZF's supposed plans to send the player "cattle class" across the Atlantic to play for New Zealand against Mexico in Los Angeles on Thursday (NZT) next week.
Fallon will then arrive back in Britain the day before his side play an English Championship match against Preston North End on March 6, and the club want the lanky striker to travel in as much comfort as possible.
Plymouth head coach Paul Mariner said: "We have got a bit of an issue with New Zealand Football as far as his travel is concerned. They are trying to put him in economy."
Fallon also voiced dissatisfaction on TV3 but Glading struck back, pointing out the original travel plan was never for Fallon to fly economy class. Instead, he was to fly premium economy, which was subsequently upgraded to business class both ways following talks with the Professional Footballers Association.
"I'm disappointed Rory is choosing to talk to the press before finding out the facts. He would be better off sticking to talking about the stuff he knows about. We're a bit annoyed, because he's out of line," Glading told The Dominion Post.
"We do understand player welfare and we have always tried to do the best for the players within the economic reality of things."
Glading said all the European-based All Whites except for two who, because of flight availability, would be in premium economy for the return leg.
The four Wellington Phoenix players in the All Whites' squad -- Leo Bertos, Tim Brown, Ben Sigmund and Tony Lochhead -- will return to Wellington in premium economy class. They face the Newcastle Jets in an A-League football playoff match the day after landing.
Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert today expressed satisfaction at New Zealand's accommodation and training facilities in South Africa following a three-day pre-World Cup visit.
Herbert was part of a management delegation inspecting their base camp in Gauteng, just outside Johannesburg.
"Really good quality. I don't think we could ask for much more. Very good quality and I think it will be great for the players," Herbert said.
He attended a seminar involving the managers of all 32 teams in Sun City and said excitement over the tournament was clearly building a little over 100 days out from the tournament kicking off.
Herbert was to return to Wellington for two days before leaving for Los Angeles, where Mexico loom as a massive hurdle.
"I think we'll be up against it, we'd be silly if we didn't acknowledge that. It's the first game back for 5-6 months but we've pitched it high for a reason," he said.
"It's the start of the programme and I'll be looking forward to it."
