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Tamatoa Tetauira has been one of AS Pirae’s key players this season; the team is looking for his third straight Tahitian Ligue 1 title. The striker returned to Tahitian football a year after spending time at Alliance Folgensbourg-Muespach which plays in the district/regional leagues of French football.
Tetauira also helped AS Pirae eliminate AS Dragon in the OFC Champions League by scoring three goals in the qualifiers last month, being one of the standout players for his team and expected to play key role in the group stage of the competition this May.
Upon his return to Tahiti he was expected to be part of the national team for the friendly matches against New Caledonia, but this did not happen. Tetauira will be suspended for one year from all professional football competitions in Tahiti for not complying with international transfer rules as pictured by the local press.
The striker had played in France for FC Muespach after leaving his former club in Tahiti – AS Venus – without meeting the necessary criteria for the international transfer. After returning to Tahiti, the player joined AS Piraé and then Tetauira sanctioned and prohibited to play until July 2021, but even before this date the FTF allowed the player to return to actions in February of that year.
In a match against AS Tefana in February, 2021, the opposition club filled a complaint in the score sheet of the game regarding the situation of the player. After having his complaints denied by FTF, the club decided to apply it to the Ethics Commission of Olympic committee: “The chairman of this commission also rejecting his appeal, AS Tefana seized the court, which finally ordered the FTF to re-examine AS Tefana’s claim of February 26, 2021 by seizing the Disciplinary Committee. On May 5, 2022, the FTF Disciplinary Committee, in accordance with the judgment of March 1, 2022, re-examined the situation and decided to ban Tamatoa from participating in competitions organized by the FTF during the current season.”
The decision was made public by the end of this March, confirming the Tahitian international will be missing the rest of the football season in Tahiti, meaning so the player will not be able to represent either AS Piraé in national and international competitions and the national teams – the player is a dual international in the beach and also in the field for Tahiti.
Oceania Football Center 