Soccer: Eligibility issue could lead to penalty

The AFC Fury may find out the result of Papakura City FC's protest by the end of the week. Photo / John Borren

AFC Fury may know within a week whether their promotion play-off victory against Papakura City FC will stand after their opponents lodged a protest over the alleged use of ineligible players.

Auckland Football Federation operations manager Don Manase said if the offence was proven the penalty would be severe - blocking the club's path to the Northern Regional Football League Division Two competition next season.

"In a normal league situation, it would mean the potential loss of points and loss of match so, in a play-off, it would be like a default of match,' Manase said.

"There are fines, but it depends on the regulation and the competition that is being played. There are separate regulations for federation competitions than the inter-federation competitions, and they are not always the same."

He said complaints about teams fielding ineligible players were common, including teams using players who were too young, unregistered, or in fixtures when a higher quality club side had a bye.

Manase was unaware of a previous complaint lodged against the Fury and referred comment to WaiBOP acting CEO Peter Knell.

"I couldn't tell you about that. I only know about the current one which is around the play-off between Papakura and AFC Fury. That's the only one I'm aware of."

AFC Fury founder David Cook said there were "no problems" with Fury players seven times within a three-and-a-half minute period when contacted by the Bay of Plenty Times.

"How can I put it? We have no problems at all with our players and that's all I'm prepared to say," said Cook.

"I'm not concerned with it, we're moving on.

"There are no problems with Fury players."

Cook said there was more to the eligibility of a player than the origin of his surname.

"Some are permanent residents - they live here. There are no problems, just because they have foreign names doesn't mean they are foreign."

Cook confirmed the club had been cleared earlier in the year by the WaiBOP Football Federation following a similar complaint.

"It's the same thing. To my knowledge, it's been driven by Tauranga City United, but that's heresay."

Cook denied the club had escaped sanctioning due to ambiguity in the rules.

"No, it's to do with the fact they are local players. There's a colony of South Americans who live in Mount Maunganui, so the short of it is we are not concerned, there are no problems and we are moving on."

He declined an opportunity to comment on whether Fury players were paid and then said he had to go.

"I will talk to you another time but I am busy at the moment, but I will catch up with you and share some good stuff with you.

"But the bottom line is there are no problems with Fury players.

"How can I put it? Some people spend their time trying to stop others' progress instead of getting on with their own thing. But there are no problems."

Later, in a string of text messages, Cook made a series of statements about the state of football in the Bay and beyond.

He looked forward to "reinvigorating" football in the area and added protests against the club were a "desperate attempt to derail the Fury's success".

He believed cheating was rampant within the Auckland and northern regional competitions and advocated reform be undertaken.

"The rules are outdated and need reviewing, but as they stand Fury has followed them 100 per cent."

A British name did not necessarily mean a player was eligible to play in New Zealand, nor did team lists always correlate to the players on the field, he said.

He also clarified his answer to claims Fury players are paid.

"Nobody gets paid at the Fury to actually play football."

He closed with a quote from 19th century American author/poet/philosopher Henry David Thoreau: "None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm."

AFC Fury captain Bevan Woltersdorf identified himself as the only local player in the team after the first leg win against Papakura and admitted the side found the language barrier difficult to deal with.

WaiBOP acting chief executive Peter Ardnell did not return calls yesterday.