A budding national football rep has been blocked by the Fiji Football Association in its Comet system and will not feature for his district in the Digicel Premier League this weekend.
This has been confirmed to The Fiji Times Online by Fiji FA chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf.
Yusuf said the player failed to turn up for the national camp this week and when inquired, Fiji FA found out he was scheduled to leave the nation this weekend without the knowledge of his district and Fiji FA.
The said player is under contract with a Fiji FA affiliated district.
Yusuf added there are a few more players who are under the spotlight and Fiji FA is expected to take action against them once more information surfaces.
Meanwhile, Fiji FA has also been made aware of a scam whereby some former Fiji residents, residing overseas, especially in Melbourne, Australia are trying to get district and national reps on a student visa to play for their social clubs.
Fiji FA President Rajesh Patel said they are now in contact with the Australian High Commission and he is also advising district Presidents to check on players and see if any of them have been contacted by these individuals.
“We need to ensure these players are contracted to Australian clubs and there is international transfer process to follow,” Patel said.
“We are really concerned about these players as their future will be ruined playing in social games.”
Patel said they understand some prominent players have been approached and some have even secured visas and travel fares.
He said they will request the Embassy and any visa processing must be done after players are cleared both by Fiji FA and their respective districts.
“Some of these players are contracted with their districts and they have to clear everything before they will get the ITC,” said Patel.
“I am sure that the districts here will support any player who secures a contract with a club which is affiliated with football federation Australia,”said Patel.
