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What sort of "headline" is this ? Cheating Kiwis may boycott.

OVP

Coach
Messages
11,625
Just roll up and die News LTd. NOONE wants you as a part of our great game. Did Becky s**tty-Wilson think of that headline for you ? Christ i LOATHE them... Btw Mr Mascord, you lost EVERY tiny bit of respect you had, since you joined the Lackey-Brigade of News Ltd.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20671473-23214,00.html

Cheating Kiwis may boycott

By Steve Mascord
October 31, 2006
NEW Zealand league boss Selwyn Bennett last night performed another backflip in a desperate bid to stop the Kiwis losing their Tri-Nations points.
The Mt Isa-born hooker Nathan Fien seems certain to be booted out of the tournament after Bennett admitted he did not have a Kiwi grandparent, as was earlier claimed.
International Federation officials will also discuss today whether to revoke New Zealand's points for its victory over Great Britain at the weekend, in which Fien played.
But Bennett threatened to pull the Kiwis out of the tournament immediately if points were deducted - and said it would definitely happen if the victory was credited to Great Britain.
However, after telling NZ's Radio Sport that Fien had told him Irene Lilian Maude was definitely his great-grandmother, Bennett changed his story when contacted by The Daily Telegraph.
"I wouldn't have a clue what she is - whether she's a grandmother, a great grandmother or what," Bennett said.
"He said that it was his grandmother ... someone said to me that it was (his) great grandmother.
"I accepted that. Nathan, he makes reference to his nanna. I'm pretty confused as to what it is."
Yet Bennett said he had no plans to ask Fien to clarify the issue, and nor had he tried to contact him about it in the last two days.
He said he would be "surprised if anything did happen" in response to the uproar and he expected Fien to continue playing in the Tri-Nations without a problem.
But the Rugby League International Federation executive chairman Colin Love had another view, saying: "The birth certificate was certainly presented to the Australian Rugby League as that of Nathan Fien's grandmother.
"The rules state that players are eligible if their grandparent was born in that country - but not a great-grandparent.
"It may be that the New Zealand Rugby League will have to show cause as to why they should not lose their competition points for fielding an ineligible player," he said.
International rugby league would be on its knees if the defending champion pulled out of the November 11 clash with Great Britain at Westpac Stadium, its last pool game.
Love was last night involved in a phone hook-up with Rugby Football League executive chairman Richard Lewis to discuss what action to take.
The Great Britain team manager Abi Ekoku said yesterday that rules had been breached and it was up to the RLIF to decide on a punishment.
He said loss of points was an obvious option.
But Bennett argued: "If you have Black's legal dictionary ... read up on grandparents. There's no differentiation between great grandparents or grandparents.
"We have done nothing wrong. We took the player on his word. As far as we're concerned, Nathan is clear to play."
The Kiwi players went bungy jumping during their day off in Queenstown yesterday.
Team manager Peter Leitch said only Bennett was authorised to comment on the scandal.
 

carlnz

Bench
Messages
3,860
Selwyn Bennett you are a cheat.......you have cheapen the Kiwis jumper and slap all Kiwi league fans in the face.
 

LeagueNut

First Grade
Messages
6,976
It looks like a pretty accurate story to me.

And I like this one as well, also written by Mascord ... http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20671469-23214,00.html

Amateur hour runs out of time

Comment by Steve Mascord

THE clock on the amateur hour that is international rugby league had ticked down the full 60 minutes last night.

Nathan Fien's eligibility fiasco was a humiliation to all involved in the running of the Tri-Nations and a slap in the face to those people around the world who give up their time free of charge to promote and spread the game.

The Kiwis' coach, administrators and even their players have repeatedly referred to Fien's "grandmother" in interviews over the past month. Whoever came up with this rort has made liars of them all.

And if the NZRL really thought great-grandparents might be covered by the rule - and that beggars belief - they should have sought clarification before selecting him.

But how ridiculous is it that an athlete is allowed to play professional sport at an elite, international level on "his word", with no-one bothering to check?

The Rugby League International Federation is nothing more than development officer Tas Baitieri and a bunch of T-shirts whose full-time jobs are elsewhere.

It doesn't have an address or a phone number and there is no Tri-Nations tournament director.

Is it any wonder embarrassments like "Grannygate" occur when, quite literally, NO-ONE is running the show?

Every player from now on should be forced to provide birth certificates and, if necessary, their parents' and grandparents' birth certificates in order to represent their country.

Nathan Fien - who would have qualified for the Kiwis on residency next year anyway - may yet go down as an important figure in rugby league history.

He will hopefully be the man who forces the administrators to give international football the respect and diligence it deserves.
 

screeny

Bench
Messages
3,984
OVP,

You may hate News, but I applaud any journalist for putting the boot in on this one: it's their job and they should uncover any cheating.

Mascord is well within his rights to write such a scathing, and accurate, piece. No one is running the show.

It's a massive, massive scandal and however it's finally resolved RL has kicked itself in the nuts again.
 

ozbash

Referee
Messages
26,922
carlnz said:
Selwyn Bennett you are a cheat.......you have cheapen the Kiwis jumper and slap all Kiwi league fans in the face.

bennett, the selectors and anyone else involved have to go.they are not bigger than the game.

i feel worse about this than the warriors minus 4.
 

ozbash

Referee
Messages
26,922
New Zealand Rugby league Executive Chairman Sel Bennett has backed down on his threat to pull the Kiwis out of the Tri Nations if they lose their competition points over the Nathan Fien eligibility saga.

He earlier siad New Zealand will pull out of the Tri-Nations if it is docked points because of Australian-born Nathan Fien's ineligibility to pull on a black jumper.

"If we lose our points then Great Britain needn't bother showing up to Wellington (on Saturday) week because we certainly won't be there," NZRL executive chairman Selwyn Bennett told the Daily Telegraph.

It's been revealed Fien has a great grandmother and not a grandmother who as born in New Zealand.

The International Rugby League Federation will meet by phone conference on Tuesday morning to decide whether Fien's eligible for the Kiwis.

Bennett said he was over emotional when he threatened to pull the Kiwis out of the tournament.

He said it was something on the heat of the moment and he gets very heated when he defends his team.

Sel Bennett refuses to say whether he will resign if Nathan Fien's ruled ineligible, and the Kiwis lose their competition points.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/875572
 

gunnamatta bay

Referee
Messages
21,084
I think they should just get on with life. Finish the series and then have a meeting and nut out the rules of eligibility. IMO you must have a passport from the country you wish to represent.

Forget any talk of docking points and withdrawing. The game comes first individuals last.
 

JJ

Immortal
Messages
31,974
Sel Bennett :lol: :lol: :lol:

surely this is an episode of Punk'd.... surely????
 

Skinner

Coach
Messages
13,581
gunnamatta bay said:
I think they should just get on with life. Finish the series and then have a meeting and nut out the rules of eligibility. IMO you must have a passport from the country you wish to represent.

Forget any talk of docking points and withdrawing. The game comes first individuals last.

That's a piece of good sense there gunna - breath of fresh air.
 

nadera78

Juniors
Messages
2,233
I was going to call it a farce but that is actually too lenient, it is a complete f**king disgrace to everyone who plays, officiates, sponsors or watches this great game of ours.

I especially feel for New Zealanders who have had their greatest honour (representing their family, friends, people and nation) stolen by Nathan Fien and perhaps even given away by the NZRL. For 99 years the Kiwi Rugby League team has represented NZ and it's people with honour, pride, passion, skil and endeavour, only to see all of that thrown away by the selfishness of a small group of individuals.

These men listed below (and countless others)have all been betrayed by the NZRL.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]New Zealand Legends of League [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bert Avery[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Charlie McBride[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ron Ackland[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bill McLennan[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Roger Bailey[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hugh McGahan[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bert Baskerville[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]George Menzies[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Tom Baxter[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Cecil Mountford[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lory Blanchard[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Maurie Robertson[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Jock Butterfield[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Charlie Seeling[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mel Cooke[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bill Sorenson[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Cyril Eastlake[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kurt Sorenson[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mark Graham[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kevin Tamati[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Travers Hardwick[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Des White[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Karl Ifwersen[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Dennis Williams[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Cliff Johnson[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]John Percival (Referee)[/FONT]



 

innsaneink

Referee
Messages
29,365
gunnamatta bay said:
I think they should just get on with life. Finish the series and then have a meeting and nut out the rules of eligibility. IMO you must have a passport from the country you wish to represent.

Forget any talk of docking points and withdrawing. The game comes first individuals last.

Yep...will look great if the Kiwis by some miracle end up winning again, and one N Fein plays a significant role in the victory.

Im sure bennett though would take any victory, not matter how hollow it would be....he seems the type.
 

Pierced Soul

First Grade
Messages
9,202
i think bennett is trying to prove he can run soufs and continue a tradition of incompetancy.

this is a major f**kup and asurely fien is accoutnable for his actions. the jersey was cheapened when webb was given a jersey, was furtehr cheapened by fiens selection and with thios revelation it's now a farce.

simply the admins f**ked up in not checking out fien and they should take their medicine instead of throwing tantrums over their own stupidity
 

Martli

Coach
Messages
11,564
If Sel did want the kiwis to boycott, I'm sure Bluey would go absolutely off at him. It's not Bluey's style. I don't think anyone in the team would want to boycott the game - they'd tell Bennet to get f**ked.
 

linny

Juniors
Messages
20
gunnamatta bay said:
I think they should just get on with life. Finish the series and then have a meeting and nut out the rules of eligibility. IMO you must have a passport from the country you wish to represent.

Forget any talk of docking points and withdrawing. The game comes first individuals last.


Mate i've been astonished at the huge overreaction... Why ruin a great series over already murky eligibility rules...... just get on with the footy...
 

ShadesOfTheSun

Juniors
Messages
646
linny said:
Mate i've been astonished at the huge overreaction... Why ruin a great series over already murky eligibility rules...... just get on with the footy...
Because the eligibility rules aren't murky at all, and if we persist in claiming they ARE murky because we decide to endow the term 'grandparents' with a level of ambiguity inconsistent with its legal usage, we open the door to a possible flood of cynical opportunism and petulance.

As I said before, if the review panel lets the NZRL get away with this they are essentially accepting that all you need to play for a country is to have a distant ancestor there. Cameron Smith could decide to make himself eligible for Great Britain, if he can't get the Australian #9 off Buderus next year, or Buderus could do the same if he can't win the spot from Smith. A future Andrew Johns could decide that he wants to play for New Zealand instead of Australia because he doesn't get along with the Australian coach, or because the NZRL has offered him more money. Do we really want international rugby league open to a 'highest bidder wins' scenario?
 

JJ

Immortal
Messages
31,974
that's pretty much right, under Bennett's idiot interpretation (although I see he seems to be trying to shift responsibility to Fien now) a few NZ players, and pretty much every Australian would be elligible for Great Britain.

On the radio, Bennett implied that one could go back as far as you liked :roll:

Pertinent question now - is Sel Bennett starting to rival Graeme Carden?
 

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