Elrich spoke to Fox Sports prior to Adelaide United’s final AFC Champions League group game against Jiangsu Suning on Tuesday night.

The full-back, who is currently on the sidelines with a long-term knee injury, said he was “worried” about next season, with the club having only signed seven or eight players.

Elrich also said they left their recruitment too late this season and could see a repeat if decisions weren’t made quicker leading to an angry response from Griffin.

“Tarek opened his mouth on Tuesday night and got it completely wrong,” Griffin told FiveAA.

“Get your facts right. We have 14 players signed, not two, not six or seven, plus we’re continuing to speak to other players at the same time.

“What he said was pure nonsense.

“Normally I sit there and let players get a pass on stuff like that, but he’s senior, he’s been around long enough and what he did was wrong.

“He’s got to face the consequences, whatever they are.”

Griffin backed down somewhat when pressed on what those consequences may be.

“Probably nothing. I don’t want to sack him, there’s no point,” he said.

“He’s not going to play for 12 months. He’s recovering from an ACL injury.”

Adelaide are hoping to appoint a new coach before mid-June following Guillermo Amor’s decision to quit the club.

The Reds re-signed striker Baba Diawara on Thursday, while Marcelo Carrusca and Eugene Galekovic appear set to leave. George Mells has already confirmed his departure.