Witness says PNGFA covering up U20s misbehaviour

 By JACK AMI

PAPUA New Guinea needs to know the truth about the drunk and disorderly behaviour of the national Under-20 soccer team returning from the Oceania qualifiers in Fiji, Janet Sesevi says.

Sesevi, a senior Customs officer, is furious that PNG Football Association general-secretary Dimirit Mileng and head coach Wesley Waiwai are denying “the truth of what had transpired”.

Sesevi, who blew the whistle on the behaviour of the winless U20 side, said Mileng’s investigation “is just a cover up as the truth is that some thick headed boys had consumed alcohol and were a nuisance on the flight from Fiji to PNG”.

She said the drunk PNG players were told by flight attendants not to leave the aircraft at Honiara because they were under the influence of alcohol.

“I was a passenger on that flight and I can distinguish PNG citizens from Solomon Islanders,” she said.

“I’m not a stupid to make false allegations or statements in the media.

“This is a very serious issue and I don’t know why Mileng and Waiwai are trying to cover it up as I brought out the pure truth to light after six weeks to get the facts correct.

“These are Port Moresby-based players and the management is trying to cover things up and  this needs to be investigated.”

Sesevi said the soccer body and the players should come out and admit the truth to the people of the country.

 “The team management that travelled with the team must come out and admit the truth because the ball is in their court. Why is the coach saying little and where is the team manager,”she asked.

“They did not make a mention about flight attendants not allowing them to leave the flight in Honiara …,why? Because they were drunk and could not control themselves.”

She questioned where Mileng was during that flight and if he was on the flight why had he not controlled the drunk players.

“Was he there at Jackson’s Airport to witness their behaviour, if he was there em bai sem na go hait.”

Her claims were backed by a member of the U20 squad who was on the flight.

One of the U/20 players who was part of the team to Fiji and on the flight confirmed some players had been quite drunk and rowdy.

He called on Mileng and Waiwai to stop defending the drunk players.

The player who did not want to be named said the national soccer body should not be calling for an apology because the U20 players were at failt.

A Lae-based player supported the claim, saying: “We were sitting in the front while the drunkards seated at the rear were making a mockery out of themselves.”

“It was not true that the Solomon Islanders who boarded the aircraft were drunk; it was our PNG U20 boys in the aircraft,”he said in a text message to this reporter.