FOOTBALL Federation Australia boss Ben Buckley has effectively put Gold Coast United on notice after a day of high farce in which coach Miron Bleiberg was stood down by volatile owner Clive Palmer, leaving the door open for a team from western Sydney to be fast-tracked into the competition.

Bleiberg was ''suspended'' by Palmer on Wednesday night after publicly suggesting the owner's decision to hand the captaincy to 17-year-old debutant Mitch Cooper was largely ceremonial.

''He will toss the coin, then he will ask Kristian Rees which way to go, and then Kristian will tell him what to do [in the game]. He will do the ceremony, it will take one minute and then the game is normal,'' Bleiberg said.

Initially it was thought Bleiberg had been suspended indefinitely, before a club statement revealed he had been stood down only for tonight's match against Melbourne Heart, and is due to resume his duties for Wednesday's rescheduled fixture against Central Coast Mariners.

At this stage, Gold Coast has another two seasons remaining on its licence agreement, but Buckley indicated to The Age yesterday that all bets were off.