Vice Minister for Sports, Wesley Raminai, has called on David Chung to step aside as President of the PNG Football Association.
Raminai said this after learning of Chung’s resignation last Friday as president of the Oceania Football Confederation.
Chung cited personal reasons for his exit from the OFC’s top post, but his announcement came at the same time accusations of corruption were levelled against him.
He said that while Chung is required to be given the benefit of the natural course of justice, which is that he is innocent until proven guilty, the “bad publicity is not good for Papua New Guinea”.
“Therefore he (Chung) must also step aside as president of PNG Football Association,” said Raminai.
“The story has even made the New York Times, a reputable publication on the world stage and Papua New Guinea’s name has been dented already.”
Raminai, who has been trying relentlessly since last year to find a solution in the impasse between PNGFA and Football Federation PNG, said that Chung has been a stumbling block to addressing the division in the game in PNG.
“Chung’s disassociation with the PNGFA executives can allow us to find a solution to re-uniting the game in PNG. He has been deliberately delaying our efforts to address this issue.
“Also by stepping aside, it would allow Chung to concentrate on proving his innocence in the allegations that have been raised against him.”