Pacific

Fiji footballer sent home after on-field brawl

11:14 am on 21 February 2023

Indonesian players celebrate a goal in their match against Fiji Photo: Fiji FA

Three Fijian footballers were sent off in a match marred by an on-field brawl in a tournament in Jakarta.

The trio were dismissed in their U-20 match against Indonesia in the PSSI Invitational tournament.

Pawan Pratap Singh, who was sent off for punching opponents as the fight broke out in the game's final minutes, has been sent home by the Fijian FA.

Team captain Melvin Singh was also red-carded while an Indonesian player was sent off for retaliation.

In a statement, Fiji Football Association president Rajesh Patel said the team management has been directed to work on the discipline of the team, both on and off the field, in preparation for the next match and onwards.

"Fiji FA does not condone such behaviour from our national players in the team. We will come down hard on players bringing disrepute to football and the country," Patel said.

The FA has also apologised to the Indonesian FA.

The match was won 4-0 by Indonesia.

In their second game of the series, Fiji lost 3-1 to Guatemala despite taking a 1-0 lead early in the first half.

Fiji next play New Zealand in the four-team tournament.

Two teams qualify for Oceania Champions League

The Oceania Champions League men's main draw is taking shape after the completion of the New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea national play-off second leg fixtures.

Tiga Sport will be New Caledonia's representative after defeating Hienghène Sport 2-0 in Noumea.

For Papua New Guinea, Hekari United will fly the flag after their 2-0 over Lae City FC in Port Moresby.

Tahiti's play-off is underway, with AS Pirae taking a 2-0 win over AS Dragon in their first leg fixture.

Meanwhile, Samoan champions Lupe Ole Soaga defeated American Samoa champions Ilaoa and To'omata 13-0 with striker Michael Tumua-Leo scoring five goals in the Oceania Champions League Qualifying tournament in Apia.

In the other match, Tupapa Maraerenga FC of the Cook Islands defeated Veitongo FC of Tonga 1-0.