August 25 – The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has adjourned an appeal by New Zealand over their under-23 men’s team’s expulsion from the Olympic qualifying tournament final last month in Papua New Guinea.
The Kiwis were due to play Fiji in the final of the regional competition after beating Vanuatu 2-0 in the semis. Instead, Vanuatu launched a protest, upheld by the OCF which ruled that South-African born Deklan Wynne (pictured) should not have played.
Tiny Vanuatu were immediately awarded a 3-0 win and replaced New Zealand in the final, losing on penalties to Fiji who will now represent the region at next year’s Rio Olympics.
Left-back Wynne, 20, represented New Zealand at the Under-20 World Cup last month. But the OCF’s disciplinary committee deemed he did not meet any of the relevant criteria that would allow him to represent New Zealand in the Olympic competition.
New Zealand football officials were furious and immediately launched an appeal. The closed-door hearing was scheduled to have begun in Auckland on Monday but was adjourned after the new Zealand FA said their preferred legal counsel was unavailable.
No date was set for the rescheduled hearing.
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