Written decision of the OFC Disciplinary Committee

The Committee formally communicated this decision to the New Zealand Football Federation (NZF) by facsimile on 14 July 2015.
On 14 July 2015, the NZF requested the grounds for the Committee’s decision under art. 125 of the OFC Disciplinary Code. The attached written decision responds to that request.
The Committee comprised the following members: Allen Parker (Cook Islands), chairman; Sione Fa’otusia (Tonga), member; Toetasi Tuiteleleapaga (American Samoa), member; William Banjoy (Papua New Guinea), member; and Don Marahare (Solomon Islands), member.
After deliberations, the Committee decided that Mr Wynne was ineligible to play in the OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament as he did not meet the requisite criteria set out in the FIFA Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes. As the player assumed a new nationality in January 2015 (New Zealand nationality), the player was required under relevant provision article 7 to have either been born in New Zealand, to have lived in New Zealand for five years after reaching the age of 18, or to have a parent or grandparent that was born in New Zealand.
Unfortunately, the player did not meet these criteria and was found to be ineligible. If a player takes part in an official match despite being ineligible, the player’s team will be sanctioned by forfeiting the match and paying a fine.
New Zealand Football has the right to lodge an appeal to the Appeals Committee against this decision if it objects to the Committee’s representation of the facts or considers the Committee applied the law incorrectly. An appeal must be communicated to OFC in writing within fifteen days of the communication of this decision.
To read the full written decision click here
To see the exhibits related to the decision click here