Terry McFlynn, captain of Sydney FC, warned referees to protect Italian player Alessandro Del Piero. He said that if Del Piero will not be protected, fans will not be able to see the Italian play at his best.

After a week of 7-1 win over Wellington, Del Piero was closely marked by Melbourne Victory players Leigh Broxham and Mark Milligan. The two gave the Italian player only little room to move but amidst that, Del Piero managed to score four goals.

On several occasions, Del Piero said that he felt he was fouled but the referee Chris Breath only waved to play on. In lieu with Del Piero's concern, McFlynn shared the same sentiments about Del Piero's complaints. He also added that Melbourne's Marco Rojas is in the same situation and both players deserve protection.

"I haven't watched the game again but I think Rojas and Alessandro were the two most creative players last night and when you've got dangerous, skilful players like them, they're always going to draw attention and fouls from the opposition defenders,'' McFylnn said.

"In the case of Alessandro, he draws so much focus from defenders - the entire opposition, in fact. I'm not sure what the stats are but he's got to be the most fouled player in the whole league and that doesn't count all the times he gets tackled unfairly and doesn't get a free-kick," he added regarding his growing concern for Del Piero.

McFlynn warned that if defenders were allowed too much elbow room, then top player would fall victims. Terry said that if these creative players like Alessandro Del Piero were not given protection, they will not be able to play anymore once injured.

''It's been spoken about before that these top-quality players like Alessandro and Rojas, we need to see them on the park week in, week out," McFlynn said.

Meanwhile Del Piero talked about their victory and his delight about Frank Farina's extended contract to the team.

"Frank is an experienced trainer, we've enjoyed our time with him and you can see through the results and we hope he stays and if he stays I think it's good for the club," Del Piero said in an interview.