NZF confirms Games appeal

New Zealand Football (NZF) plans to lodge an appeal with Oceania Football after its team’s Pacific Games disqualification.

The Kiwis were disqualified at the semi-final stage for fielding an ineligible player, Deklan Wynne, at a tournament that acts as Rio 2016 Olympics qualification.

New Zealand had beaten Vanuatu 2-0 in the last four, but the latter were awarded a 3-0 victory before losing the final to Fiji on penalties.

NZF chief executive Andy Martin confirmed the governing body would appeal, “having taken advice from Oceania Football Federation on the rules for the competition”.

The statement said NZF had received confirmation of eligibility of the squad from the Pacific Games Council ahead of the tournament.

“New Zealand Football has acted in good faith at all times and we would have expected any issues on player eligibility to have been raised in advance, through the process we were given, so that they could have been dealt with properly in a timely fashion,” he said.

“Our lawyers are working on the appeal currently and are reviewing both the process followed and the OFC Disciplinary Committee’s interpretation of the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes and how this has been applied in similar cases.”

NZF will hold a news conference on Tuesday.