23 Sep 2015

Oceania to release Olympics ruling soon

5:03 pm on 23 September 2015

The Oceania Football Confederation said its appeals committee has met with New Zealand Football over the Olympic qualifying tournament disqualification, and a decision will be out within a month.

Deklan Wynne training with Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Wynne, the player at the centre of New Zealand Football's Olympic eligibility row, has found a professional club.

Deklan Wynne training with Vancouver Whitecaps FC Photo: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

The OFC committee reconvened in Auckland on Monday and Tuesday to hear New Zealand Football's case.

Oceania subsequently released a statement saying a decision will be released in due course.

An OFC spokesperson told Radio New Zealand that their regulations state that the decision will be released within 30 days of the hearing concluding.

If OFC reject NZ Football's appeal, as seems likely, they will then have to appeal to the world's highest sporting court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

New Zealand Football is trying to reverse a decision that saw the Oly Whites thrown out of the tournament held in Papua New Guinea in July, after Vanuatu protested Wynne's right to play for New Zealand under FIFA statutes.

The player eligibility debacle revolves around South African-born defender Deklan Wynne.

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