Athletics Australia has suspended head coach Eric Hollingsworth and believes his position is untenable after he launched an extraordinary attack on Sally Pearson on the eve of her Commonwealth Games title defence.

The Australian Commonwealth Games Association is expected to strip Hollingsworth of his official credentials today.

AA recommended to the ACGA that Hollingsworth be effectively banished, with the athletics body understood to be disappointed that swifter action hasn’t been taken by Australian Games officials.

Hollingsworth will be given a chance to explain himself at an AA board meeting before he is terminated, but he has no chance of having his contract renewed in October, having escalated his falling out with Australia’s best track and field athlete on Wednesday.

He issued a statement through a PR company to say Pearson set a “bad example” as team captain by not attending a pre-Games training camp in Gateshead.

Hollingsworth also defended his right to criticise Pearson’s failure to defend the world indoors 60m hurdles title in March, after which their relationship broke down completely.

AA president David Grace said the sport’s national ruling body was bitterly disappointed and described Hollingsworth’s position as “untenable”.

“We had directed him not to comment to the media and that we would discuss his complaints with him. He acted without the authority of Athletics Australia and in contravention of the specific instructions of the chief executive officer,” Grace said.

“Athletics Australia condemns in the strongest terms his disparaging comments about Sally Pearson and his timing.

“We believe he may have breached his contract with Athletics Australia. We’ve taken the view that his position as head coach of Athletics Australia is untenable.

“We didn’t want to sack him today. We wanted to ensure due process occurred.”

Grace confirmed that team management would decide within the next 24 hours who will take over as coach for the remaining few days in Glasgow.

The relationship between Hollingsworth and Pearson deteriorated in March, when the coach took Pearson to task for failing to successfully defend her world indoors 60m hurdles title and she broke off all contact with him.

It fitted something of a pattern.

Australia’s fastest woman Melissa Breen has barely heard from him, even after breaking the Australian 100m record.

Fabrice Lapierre said on Wednesday that Hollingsworth was unpopular within the team, with the long jumper adding he had never seen him do any actual coaching.

Lapierre, the long jump gold medal winner from Delhi 2010, said he laughed when he heard about the Hollingsworth matter.

Asked whether the majority opinion among team members was that Hollingsworth wasn’t well liked, Lapierre didn’t hesitate with his response.

“Oh definitely,” he said.

“It’s pretty funny I think. I guess a lot of athletes don’t really like him. I don’t really care.”

Despite the suspension, Hollingsworth was at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Wednesday, chiefly to assist heptathlete Sophie Stanwell.

Stanwell, who finished fourth with a new personal best points tally in the women’s heptathlon, said she required his presence.

“Definitely. He’s a decathlete and he understands multi-events,” she said.

“He’s been great the past two days. My coaches for my field events haven’t been here so he’s stepped up and he did a really great job helping me out.

Stanwell also revealed that Hollingsworth’s demeanour seemed unaffected.

“He’s a tough guy,” he said.

Steeplechaser Genevieve LaCaze clashed with Hollingsworth back in 2012 over her controversial late inclusion in the London Olympics team, but the Queenslander said she’s since patched things up with the suspended coach.

LaCaze, who finished fifth in Glasgow, said she wasn’t distracted before her event.

“It’s 100 per cent fine, that was two years ago now,” she said.

LaCaze and Lapierre both insisted Hollingsworth’s outburst would have no impact on what they claim is a strong team morale.

“We’ve all been thick as thieves. Nothing can break this team morale right now, whatever’s going on with public and with Eric,” LaCaze said.

Meanwhile, an Australian athlete has been arrested over a fight inside the Commonwealth Games athletes’ village.

The 29-year-old man, who has not yet been named, was detained by police responding to reports of a disturbance at the village in Glasgow’s east about 6am on Wednesday.

“A 29-year-old has been arrested and is presently detained in police custody in connection with an alleged assault following an altercation within the athletes’ village in Glasgow,” a Scotland Police spokeswoman said.

The man is due to face Glasgow Sherriff’s court on Thursday.