Perth were without the services of Brandon Wilson in their 3-0 loss to Adelaide United, due to his call up to Ante Milicic’s squad for the Championship in China.

Sage is the latest in many A-League coaches and owners to criticise the FFA for allowing players to leave their clubs for the AFC tournament, saying the governing body are “penalising” the club for giving “young players a chance”.

“(FFA are) deeming it appropriate to take the brightest young players away from their clubs, for a prolonged period in the middle of the season, to participate in a tournament that FIFA does not recognise,” Sage said.

“This is just the latest in a catalogue of poor decisions made by FFA as we head into 2018 (and) provides yet another reason why the league would be best served by splitting away from their control.

“We simply cannot allow the game in this country to continue to be so badly mismanaged.”

Sage also called the defeat against Sydney FC "totally unacceptable" and said it "hurt everyone in the Glory family."

The Olyroos have failed to qualify for the last two Summer Olympics, and Milicic has publically insisted the value young Australians get from playing in these build-up tournaments.

Australia will play Thailand in a friendly on January 6, and then South Korea, Vietnam and Syria in the group stage, who they’ll kick off their campaign against on January 11.