In its latest statement on Thursday, the AFF said the first semi-finals match between the Filipinos and the Indonesians will be held on December 16 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
The second semi-finals game between the two squads will be on December 19 also at the same venue.
The other semi-final duel will be between Suzuki Cup defending champion Vietnam and Malaysia.
The first semi-final game between Vietnam and Malaysia will take place at the Bukit Jalil Stadiun in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 15.
The next semi-finals match between the two countries will take place on December 18 at the My Dihn Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Former PFF president blamed for AFF decision
Meantime, current Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President Mariano Araneta Jr. blamed his predecessor, Jose Mari Martinez, for losing country’s chance to host one of its semi-final games in Bacolod.
He said the AFF’s decision rejecting the Philippines as a venue for the 2010 Suzuki Cup semifinal games was allegedly based on Martinez’s statement that the country’s facilities are not suitable for international football.
Araneta said they were working with Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chairman Monico Punetevella and Carlos “Charlie” Cojuangco of the Negros Occidental Football Association (NOFA) to prepare the Pana-ad Football Stadium in Bacolod City for the semi-final game when they received word from the AFF that the country cannot host the match.
“We were surprised later that they [AFF] said that ‘sorry we can not hold the game in the Philippines because Mr. Martinez has informed us that there's no venue’,” Araneta told Boyet Sison in an interview on ANC’s "Top Story" on Thursday.
The PFF appealed the decision twice with the AFF, but Araneta said “the AFF decision was final.”
Martinez ousted last November
Araneta said Martinez has been claiming that he [Martinez] is recognized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) as the PFF president.
Araneta, however, said that he replaced Martinez during a PFF meeting in November.
“He was ousted by our congress in a regular meeting, and it was witnessed by the POC. The proceedings are legal and in accordance with our by-laws,” argued Araneta.
Among the AFF requirements for the Philippines to host the games are that the venue should allow 30,000 spectators and it should have suitable lighting for live television coverage.
Araneta said lighting the Pana-ad Stadium is something they could easily fix by increasing the number of floodlights at the venue.
“I think Pana-ad has only 800 lights and we need about 1,200, but we talked to Mr. Monico Puentevella, he said that he has talked to the PSC [Philippine Sports Commission] and he said it's OK to transfer some lights,” he said.
Philippine football team manager Dan Palami, on the other hand, claimed the AFF was actually willing to cut back on some requirements.
"They were willing to turn a blind eye on some of the requirements that they had. Pana-ad is only good for 20,000 spectators but unfortunately, there has been a letter sent to them saying, ‘sorry we can not host,’” said Palami.
Philippine team dismayed over decision
The Philippine team was also dismayed at the decision. Its official statement was uploaded on the blog of sportswriter Rick Olivares, who covered the Philippine stint in Vietnam.
“We deplore this decision that was arrived at without consulting the national team management team or even having the facilities inspected. We believe that this is an opportunity to provide Filipinos with a chance to watch some world-class football action that will inspire our countrymen to take up the sport and break new ground for the Philippines,” the team said.
“Just as you were all on our side when we were playing in Vietnam, we ask that every Filipino and football fan out there to express this indignation with regard to this decision in every venue, fora, or media so that we may treat the country to Azkals football. We implore you to express yourself on twitter, facebook, messenger, and everywhere else,” the Philippine booters added.
“After all, the home field game is rightfully ours.”
No comments:
Post a Comment