Azkals players, officials banned for ‘breakdown in discipline’, ‘failure of leadership’ over Cristy Ramos case

Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss. InterAKTV/Roy Afable

Even though Azkals members Lexton Moy and Angel Guirado were cleared of sexual harassment charges filed by former Philippine Olympic Committee president Cristy Ramos, the Philippine Football Federation Disciplinary Committee still handed out suspensions to several players and officials of the national team.

The PFF did not to reply to multiple requests by InterAKTV for a copy of the decision, while News5′s efforts to secure the document were also rebuffed.

The disciplinary committee, chaired by lawyer Eric Ingles, acts independently from the PFF.

But the Philippine Star and the Philippine Daily Inquirer both reported that Moy and Guirado owere each handed one-game bans from international competition for “breakdown in discipline,” while Denis Wolf received a reprimand for his behavior during the incident. Azkals team manager Dan Palami and coach Hans Michael Weiss were suspended two games apiece, while assistant coach Edzel Bracamonte and James Younghusband, who was acting team captain in the match, were suspended one game each for “failure of leadership”.

In a statement Friday night, Palami said the decision would be appealed, but did not name the suspended parties. Instead, he focused on the dismissal of the sexual harassment charges.

“It is to the relief of the team and the management that such a serious charge has been found to be without foundation but this is no surprise to us,” Palami said.

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