27 Jul 2015

NZ Football to appeal Olympic disqualification

4:27 pm on 27 July 2015

New Zealand Football will appeal the disqualification of the New Zealand side from the Rio Olympics.

The Oly-Whites, New Zealand's under-23 side, was disqualified for fielding an ineligible player at the qualifying tournament in Papua New Guinea recently.

In a statement, New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin said the organisation had received legal advice that there were sufficient grounds to appeal the decision "both in terms of the process undertaken, and the rules applied".

He said the appeal would be filed later this week with the Oceania Football Confederation.

Deklan Wynne

Deklan Wynne - the player at the centre of the eligibility debacle Photo: PHOTOSPORT

"Having had the opportunity to review all of the information now available, we remain disappointed at the sequence of events that led to the harsh decision to disqualify our team," Martin said.

"In the meantime our players remain our top priority. Our management team is currently reviewing all of our internal processes and eligibility information to ensure we do not put ourselves in a position where this could happen again.

"We intend to have this internal review completed in the next few weeks, and once complete we will put in place a programme of action to remedy any eligibility concerns should any arise.

"This work programme is our key focus, and will be completed irrespective of the outcome of the appeal."

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs

We have regular online commentary of local and international sport.