Football Wagga has pushed back its meeting to discuss Tolland’s controversial half-time abandonment of Sunday’s Pascoe Cup preliminary final, but the board members are still referring to the gathering as“urgent”.
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Having originally planned to convene this week, the board is now slated to to discuss the matter early next week due to grand final preparations taking priority and the absence of several board members.
Competitions manager David Merlino said he could not specify whether Tolland playing seven men in final round of the regular season - a decision which resulted in the referees calling the game at half-time - would also be discussed.
“The board is yet to investigate in more detail to determine if it will take any further action,” Merlino said of Sunday’s incident.
Tolland coach Chris Ayton made the decision to forfeit his side’s grand final chances after discovering that midfielder Bruno Andre had not been listed on the team sheet, a misdemeanour which warrants disqualification, according to the Football Wagga by-laws.
While Merlino had stated FWW would wait until it had received reports from referees and other parties before making a final decision, Ayton was of the firm belief that the disqualification was inevitable and called the game.
The Wolves coach said he saw no point in playing a meaningless second-half and risking injuries to Henwood Park ahead of their grand final.