MELBOURNE Victory could be forced to host a grand final interstate after the AFL locked the A-League out of Etihad Stadium and the MCG.

A war of words exploded between the two codes on Tuesday night as to whether Football Federation Australia gave enough notice of its need to book a ground.

FFA tried to make a "pencil booking" at both Etihad and the MCG for Sunday, May 17, but was told by the venues that the AFL exercised its priority rights over the 100,000 and 56,000-capacity venues to schedule games. AAMI Park — capacity about 28,000 — is free.

But it is understood that if Victory, currently top of the table and a $5 title favourite with TAB, was to be drawn against big-drawing clubs such as Sydney FC or Western Sydney then FFA would rather play the game at ANZ Stadium.

media_camera Melbourne Victory fans could be short-changed if their team earns a home grand final.

The freeze out could also impact Melbourne City in the same way and the FFA has put the blame squarely on the AFL.

The 2015 AFL fixture is released on Thursday, but the Herald Sun understands Round 7 (May 15-17) will contain Friday, Saturday and Sunday games at Docklands and Saturday and Sunday games at the MCG.

The FFA said last night it had alerted the relevant grounds in May that its 2015 grand final would be on either May 10 or May 17.

When the A-League fixture was released in June the grand final was scheduled for May 10, but was later pushed back a week to accommodate next year's Asian Champions League.

It publicly announced those changes on September 19 and says it alerted the AFL and Etihad Stadium — its preferred grand final venue in Melbourne — to that fact.

The AFL said it was approached three months ago by Victory and Etihad to keep May 10 free, but said it was caught unaware by the change in dates.

"The first we'd heard of May 17 was eight or nine days ago," an AFL spokesman said.

"At that stage we said 'no' because our fixture is about 90 per cent done and we'd been working on a different date on the advice we'd been given."

media_camera Damien de Bohun says Victorian sports fans would be livid if the grand final had to be moved.

But A-League boss Damien de Bohun said the AFL was alerted to the change five weeks ago.

"FFA has been in constant contact with Etihad Stadium and the MCG about the grand final booking, and in turn the venues have been liaising with their other hirers and tenants," de Bohun said.

"Victorian fans would rightly be bitterly disappointed if other fixtures blocked the opportunity to play an A-League grand final in Melbourne at a major venue.

"We will continue to talk to all parties, including the Victorian Government, to make sure the interests of the Victorian sporting public are safeguarded."

Five AFL games in Melbourne from Friday to Sunday is a rarity. Last year Etihad and the MCG shared five games over those days just five times in 23 rounds, two of which fell on the A-League's preliminary final and grand final weekends.

The AFL has reluctantly conceded three dates to soccer between July 18-25 in order for the blockbuster International Champions Cup, featuring four of Europe's biggest clubs, to be played at the MCG.

The Victorian state government, Etihad Stadium and MCG management all declined to comment on Tuesday.