The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Disciplinary Committee has handed down a three-year ban to former Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) Senior Vice President Seth Daniels after he was found to have breached FIFA, OFC and PNGFA Statutes.
Yesterday’s ruling will mean he can take no further part in any football activity for the next three years.
Daniels has been involved in a legal battle with the PNGFA since September 2007 when he took out court proceedings against the association challenging the decisions of the PNGFA Disciplinary Committee who had resolved that Daniels step aside from his position for allegedly bringing the game into disrepute.
At the time Daniels said he would accept the decision of the PNGFA Disciplinary Committee but when the ruling of the committee went against Daniels he decided to take the matter to the National Court of Justice at Lae.
Daniels’ court proceeding also challenged the validity of recent elections of the PNGFA held in July 2008 where incumbent PNGFA President David Chung was re-elected as President for another four-year term. Daniels was ousted as Senior Vice President.
The FIFA Statutes, Article 64 (formerly Article 62), clearly states that recourse to ordinary courts of law is prohibited unless specifically provided for in the FIFA Regulations. Relevant OFC Statutes (Article 39) and PNGFA Statutes (Article 51) also issue similar directives. Despite warnings from FIFA and OFC, Daniels continued to disobey these directives and as result was referred to the OFC Disciplinary Committee.
The OFC Disciplinary Committee yesterday found that in bringing these proceedings to the court he acted in clear violation of the statutes.
OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas welcomes the committee’s decision of the three-year ban on Daniels.
“This decision sends a clear message to any person involved in football within OFC and in particular Papua New Guinea that recourse to the courts is a fundamental breach of FIFA, OFC and PNGFA rules. It is important to respect the decisions of FIFA and OFC and if anyone ignores these directives they do so at their own peril.
"FIFA, OFC and PNGFA have in place formal structures where aggrieved parties can have issues addressed. The current dispute has been a setback for the PNGFA and OFC in terms of time and money and we believe it is time Seth Daniel steps aside for the benefit of football as a whole,” says Nicholas.
“Both FIFA and OFC continue to recognize PNGFA President David Chung and his duly elected Executive Committee as the controlling body for football in Papua New Guinea and we can now turn our attention back to what is most important – developing the game in Papua New Guinea.”
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