“The PFF Appeals Committee decided to defer the suspensions of these national team members since they are now out of the country with the squad so are unable to present their side on the issue,” PFF president Mariano Araneta Jr. said. “This decision will be transmitted immediately today to the parties involved.”
The PFF appeals committee is headed by former Comelec commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, an ardent football enthusiast.
This means national team manager Dan Palami, German coach Michael Weiss and starting midfieler Phil Younghusband will be on the bench when the Filipino booters tangle with the Cambodian national squad in Phnom Penh later today.
Last Friday, the PFF Disciplinary Committee suspended Palami and Weiss for two matches and Younghusband for one match after Ramos accused Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy of sexual harassment in the Azkals’ goodwill match against CF Madrid last January.
While the committee headed by PFF legal counsel Edward Castanes cleared Guirado and Moy of the charges, it also slapped suspensions on Palami and Weiss, who were not inside the dugout when the alleged incident happened, and Younghusband, who was the acting team captain then.
“I think the decision of the PFF Appeals Committee was fair,” Palami said in a phone interview from Phnom Penh. He, Weiss and Younghusband left with the Nationals last Monday despite the possibility they would be reduced to tourists.
“Appealing the suspensions would have been moot and academic since the committee would not have been able to hear our side and we would have missed these matches,” Palami added. “Now, we will have our chance to do so.”
From Cambodia, the Azkals proceed to Singapore for the next leg of their tune-up series against the Lions tomorrow before capping their campaign against the Laos national squad in Vientiane on Monday.
Araneta said Palami, Weiss and Younghusband will be required to appear before the Appeals Committee at the PFF office on Sept. 14.
No comments:
Post a Comment