This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Football Federation Australia board member and vice chair Heather Reid has temporarily stood down, as the fallout from the sacking of Matildas coach Alen Stajcic continues.

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The administrator reportedly asked to be relieved of her position, citing personal reasons, with the FFA confirming in a statement Wednesday morning that Reid had been granted an “indefinite leave of absence”.

“The request is to enable Ms Reid to give full focus to her health and well-being following the requirement, after her election to the Board in November, to undergo chemotherapy treatment for a medical condition”, the statement read.

“In the circumstances, Heather has requested that the Members of FFA and the football community understand her decision to step aside and respect her and her family’s privacy at this challenging time.”

Chairman Chris Nikou extended FFA’s best wishes to Ms Reid “Our thoughts are with Heather and her family and we wish her a full and speedy recovery”.

Reid, who was elected to the post just over two months ago, recently denied she led a co-ordinated push to have Australia’s national women’s team boss Stajcic fired, telling the Sydney Morning Herald people “would be shocked” if they “knew the actual facts”.

“It’s absolutely not correct,” she told Fairfax Media. “It’s so far from the truth. I have no grudge against Alen Stajcic. To suggest that I have orchestrated his demise and that I’ve influenced the board members is an insult. Not to me, but the whole board.

“I suggest that it’s an ugly mess that some people in the media want to push against women of influence.”

The FFA is yet to confirm Reid’s potential replacement as vice chair, or whether an interim board member will be appointed, with a recent statute of the FFA constitution requires that a minimum of 40% of the board be female.

Reid was elected in a landslide to the new FFA board in November, gaining 90.78 votes at the FFA annual general meeting in Sydney, ahead of Jospeh Carrozzi (75.56 votes), Chris Nikou (68.44 votes) and Remo Nogarotto (a majority).