AFC's call

Brunei could face possible suspension and be given a huge fine by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after its unexpected pull out in the AFC Challenge Cup Group E qualifiers, which opened Friday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President Mariano “Nonong” Araneta said that the Asean Football Federation (AFF), of which the Philippines is also a member, already has a rule on how to deal with teams that would back out at the last minute.

"I’m not sure if a similar situation occurred in an AFC tournament before but I’m sure the AFC would give sanctions and fine Brunei," said Araneta after watching Turkmenistan’s 7-0 demolition of Cambodia in the opening of the Group E qualifiers on Friday.

"The AFF has already set some rules that if a team that already confirmed of participating in a tournament but pulled out at the last minute will be given a minimum fine of $10,000.

Brunei’s Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports issued a statement, which was published by the Brunei Times, that the country’s national football team is pulling out two days before the opening of the four-team qualifiers. The Ministry did not give the reason why they backed out.

The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) then informed the PFF that they will no longer compete.

This is not the first time that Brunei faced the same dilemma after its national football team got banned from all Fifa-organized tournaments in 2008 when their government disbanded the NFABD. The ban was lifted in 2011.

In other news, Araneta said they are still waiting for AFC’s decision on whether Azkals goalkeeper Neil Etheridge had already served his suspension in the Philippines’ walkover win over Brunei or the Filipino-British would still sit out their game against Cambodia.

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