Football Federation Australia boss David Gallop is part of the negotiation team in Kuala Lumpur lobbying to defeat a controversial recommendation by the AFC’s powerful Competitions Committee.

If the recommendation is ratified by the executive committee, champions Brisbane Roar will go into the play-offs and 2012 Grand Final losers, Perth Glory will miss out altogether. Roar said they had no comment at this stage but were “waiting and watching like everybody else”.

“There’s a possibility that some people there have less of an issue with us and more of an issue with improving their own position in the competition,” an FFA source told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“Actually all our metrics are up in terms of how the ACL is faring in Asia. Our crowds are up and our viewership is up on previous years.”

The A-League scored highly in the latest competition review but was heavily penalised for remaining under the umbrella of the FFA, falling below the 600 point benchmark.

Promotion/relegation and the performance of local clubs in the competition was not an issue, the FFA said.

“There are several reasons that they put forward, most of which we’re arguing," said the insider. "We’re arguing some of those deductions which we feel are unfair or unwarranted and we’ll be continuing to argue our case over there.”

In what appears to be a strategic move by West Asian member associations, other East Asian countries have also been placed in the firing line including India, Singapore and Vietnam.

China could be a potential winner from the tournament overhaul though, despite being embroiled in an ugly match-fixing scandal earlier in the year, with top officials sentenced for taking bribes.

In what now looks like a pre-emptive strike, a joint meeting of AFC Ad-Hoc Committees in July decided not to impose penalties for match-fixing and corruption provided member associations took appropriate action.

The Competitions Committee recommendation is at odds with a proposal accepted by the AFC leading into this week’s conference which supported Australia’s existing quota of two automatic and one play-off spots.