Gunemba, 5 others banned: PNGFA

Kapi Natto says they went out drinking during Pacific Games

By ROBINSON LEKA
THE Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) says the six players who have been left out from the national men’s train-on squads are serving a four-year ban on international duties.
PNGFA said it had received a report of Raymond Gunemba, Nigel Dabinyaba, Ishmael Pole, Ronald Warisan, Jacob Sabua and Langarap Samol drinking alcohol while on duty during last year’s Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa.
“When the men finished their last match against Fiji, I broke protocol and went into their locker room and told the team that we did not bring a medal home,” PNGFA president John Kapi Natto said.
“But the door was open for them.
“I told the players that they had to adhere to the code of discipline (set) by the PNG Olympic Committee and must behave until they returned to the country, I left on Saturday and the team came back on Sunday.
“They went out drinking (on Saturday) and that brought disgrace upon PNG football, so team manager Gordon Manub had to issue a disciplinary notice to all these players.
“The players who are suspended are of a high calibre but discipline doesn’t apply to just one person, it applies to everybody.
“As president, there’s no room for indiscipline, they must be disciplined if we want to reach the highest goals that we’ve set.”
Kapi Natto said the report from Manub classified players into two groups with one group receiving a one-year suspension that ended in June while the second group got four-year bans.
He said the six players were entitled to appeal the suspension following the establishment of the disciplinary and ethics committee along with the appeals committee under the PNGFA secretariat.