AFP, Wellington :
New Zealand Football (NZF) chief Andy Martin said Tuesday he was shocked at the country’s dramatic late ejection from Olympic qualifiers and would appeal the decision.
The nation’s footballers were thrown out of qualifiers for fielding an ineligible player, just hours before they were due to contest Sunday’s tournament final at the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea.
Martin said he was determined to pursue all avenues to ensure New Zealand had a chance to reach the Rio Olympics next year.
“It’s a shame that it’s come to this,” he told reporters. “We’ve gone there and acted in good faith… and we’ve been broadsided late on.”
The problem arose when Vanuatu questioned South African-born fullback Deklan Wynne’s eligibility after losing 2-0 to New Zealand in Friday’s semi-final.
The Oceania Football Confederation found the 20-year-old should not have been playing and overturned the result to give Vanuatu victory, eliminating New Zealand.
Under FIFA rules designed to prevent poaching of top youngsters, foreign-born players with no ties to a country cannot represent it unless they have lived there for five years after the age of 18.
Martin said Wynne moved to New Zealand with his family as a 14-year old and had risen through the country’s youth system, leaving no doubt about his Kiwi credentials.
