Tribunal rules Chile FA appointment invalid
Reuters - Wednesday 08 December 2010, 08:28
SANTIAGO - A tribunal has ruled Chile's
newly elected football association (ANFP) chief Jorge Segovia
cannot take office, which could open the door for a return of
popular national team coach Marcelo Bielsa.
The "Tribunal of Honour" ratified a recent ANFP decision
that Spanish-born Segovia, who won the football body's
presidential election on November 4, could not take office in
January because of commercial links between his businesses and
his club, Union Espanola.
Bielsa, who steered Chile to their first World Cup finals
since 1998 this year, resigned as a result of Segovia's
victory over Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the man who recruited him
in 2007.
"It is necessary to conclude that Mr. Segovia did not
comply with the requisites to be a candidate to the ANFP
presidency, so the list he was a part of, and the election
itself, are null and void," the tribunal said on the ANFP
website.
The tribunal called for a new election before January 15, the
date on which the new ANFP president was due to take office.
Chilean media said Bielsa might reconsider his decision to
quit if a new ANFP board was to his liking.