The Oceania Football Confederation said that New Zealand has been excluded from the final to determine Oceania's representative at next year's Rio Olympics men's football tournament after defender Deklan Wynne "was deemed an ineligible player," according to Greg Stutchbury of REUTERS.
Wynne, who has represented New Zealand at a senior level and during the U20 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year, was born in South Africa.
He played in the 2-0 win over Vanuatu in the semifinals, which advanced New Zealand to the final against Fiji.
Vanuatu, however, lodged a protest with the OFC Disciplinary Committee, which found New Zealand "had fielded an ineligible player, and awarded the game 3-0 to Vanuatu instead." Article 7 of the FIFA statutes relate to a player acquiring a new nationality. Under the article either the player or a parent or grandparent "needs to be born in the country they wish to represent" (REUTERS, 7/12). ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA reported the OFC "did not name the player, nor said why he was ineligible," though New Zealand Football later said that Wynne "had been deemed to be ineligible and they would challenge the decision." NZF CEO Andy Martin: "We strongly refute the ruling regarding the ineligibility of the player in question and we will be challenging this decision." Former OFC Media Manager and Pacific Games football commentator Gordon Watson said that "the situation was quite extraordinary." He said, "I was just absolutely shocked beyond words. Who knows what is going to happen next" (ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA, 7/13). STUFF's Ben Strang reported NZF has "yet to hear back from Oceania Football" after appealing its disqualification. Fiji "took out the title with a 4-3 win on penalties over Vanuatu after scores were locked at 0-0."
Martin said that given the circumstances the final "should have been postponed." He said,
"While we firmly believe [Sunday night's] match should have been delayed, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that any final decision is only reached after a proper and fair process has been carried out" (STUFF, 7/12).
