INJURED Adelaide United star Tarek Elrich has been handed a public reprimand from the club’s chief executive after a forthright interview on Fox Sports on Tuesday night, accused of spreading “false information”.

Elrich, talking before the Reds exited the AFC Champions League with a 1-0 defeat to an understrength Jiangsu, said he the club could make the same mistakes next season after slipping from A-League Premiers and Champions to also-rans. It is a problem that could be exacerbated if the club doesn’t make a prompt call on the future, and replacement for, Guillermo Amor.

Currently, both marquees Eugene Galekovic and Marcelo Carrusca are off contract, joining a list that includes Jordan Elsey, John Hall, Ryan Kitto, Iacopo La Rocca, Jesse Makarounas, Marc Marino, Dylan McGowan, George Mells, Nikola Mileusnic, Mark Ochieng, Benjamin Warland, Kim Jae-sung, Eli Babalj, Baba Diawara.

Reds CEO Grant Mayer hit back on social media on Wednesday morning, claiming his star’s “facts are wrong”.

Tarek Elrich walks laps. Picture Sarah Reed Source: News Corp Australia

REVIEW: The changes your club needs to make this off-season

STUDS UP: Comings and goings so far in the A-League silly season

“People talk about Marcelo being a lazy player but you look at his GPS results and how hard he works as a No. 10 for our team in the championship winning year, he actually done a lot of hard work and worked really well with Brucey (Djite),’’ Elrich told Fox Sports before the Reds clash.

“He got us decent results in the end.

Season Finale Podcast: Adam Peacock, Daniel Garb and Simon Hill review the epic grand final between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, and discuss what your A-League club needs for next season.

“He’s a creator if they lose him… he becomes an Aussie citizen very soon too so.

“It’s always hard to find good players and good players in the change rooms and Marcelo ticks all those boxes.

“But I’m worried about next season, I think we’ve only got about seven or eight players signed (next season).

“This (A-League) season that just went past we left our signings very late and it showed.

Adelaide United CEO Grant Mayer. Source: News Corp Australia

“We didn’t take off too quick and we finished off the season on a bit of a high and as bad as it sounds, I can see a repeat of that if the club doesn’t make their decisions soon.”

When asked for clarification, Mayer told foxsports.com.au: “The club was not at all impressed that Tarek put false information in the market live on air.

“Reality is, the club will have its 14th player signed by Thursday.

“We respect Tarek’s right to support his teammates but cannot accept any player providing misinformation to the public.”

Adelaide United hold their awards night on Wednesday.