By Abac Cordero
MANILA, Philippines - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the world’s governing body in the sport, the Federation Internationale de Football Association or FIFA, are bringing in legal officers to Manila to look deeper into the mess within the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).
Once they arrive, the AFC and FIFA officers will first sit down with Jose Mari Martinez, the deposed PFF president, before hearing Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, who took over Martinez as the head of Philippine football.
Martinez recently came under fire due to allegations that he had mishandled the PFF funds under his tenure, leading the heads of 26 of the 33 football associations nationwide to vote for his ouster.
The FIFA recently gave its blessings on Araneta as the rightful PFF head, saying that Martinez’ ouster was done accordingly.
The FIFA also said it will soon perform a complete audit of the PFF funds, probably in a bid to uncover any irregularity if there is such.
Martinez, according to source, yesterday filed a TRO (temporary restraining order) that would stop Araneta from performing the duties as PFF president.
It was also reported that Martinez is considering filing a case before the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) in Switzerland.
Going to the CAS will be a very costly move, but Martinez apparently has the backing of the Mohamed Bin Hammam, the rich and powerful AFC president from Qatar.
The TRO was filed before the Pasig Regional Trial Court by Martinez’ lawyer yesterday, and should be raffled off this week.
Araneta is in Jakarta attending the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Council meeting.
Araneta said he’s unaware of Martinez’ move.
“He filed a TRO? A TRO for what? I’m not aware of that,” he said in a phone call from Jakarta.
Araneta said he would make communications with the AFF and FIFA as soon as possible to inquire about their plan to send legal officers to Manila.
philstar.com
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5 hours ago
Martinez is like a leech. He bled the PFF dry and now he is trying to stick to the position using all means..what do we need to do to rid ourselves of this guy..
ReplyDeleteAll he is doing is providing fodder for blogs. He's an attention whore.
ReplyDeleteWheres yooooo pussy martinez?
ReplyDeleteit sucks
HAhaha..i agree anonymous..iam guilty as hell..ive given my 10 cents worth every time his name comes up. I just cant help it..how can you not hate this guy?
ReplyDeleteYes, I despise every pound of his being Jay.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, lets talk about how to promote the game. Public Schools? I vehemently disagree with this approach.
Martinez pusssyyy needs a SHOOTING ENTOURAGE..
ReplyDeletephilippine football should be nationally promoted rather than just to public schools. but it should not be limited just to football. there are other sports waiting to be promoted or developed. this must be done with fervent support. and please, no more sports leadership disputes. i'm sick of it.
ReplyDeleteWell..i think the Public School approach shoots 2 birds with one stone. It can help discover young talents who otherwise dont have the resources to get to the next level and to also spread the popularity of the game to the masses. I think it can help but I think the focus should be in building a sustainable league. Making it interesting for big business to get in because lets face it without money , we will forever be in a cycle like this. Putting our hopes in in our OFW population that can hopefully produce the next generation of Younghusbands and De Jongs.. The current league is a start, it would be interesting to know if they are actually paying the players a good salary..
ReplyDelete