Football | NZ women’s coach quits after player uprising

Andreas Heraf, the Austrian-born coach of the New Zealand women’s football team, has resigned weeks after players decried his tactics and coaching methods in an unprecedented and public mutiny.

Heraf has been on special leave since June when New Zealand Football received letters from 13 members of the national team saying they would not play for New Zealand if he remained in charge. Some of the letters alleged bullying and intimidation by Heraf who was also New Zealand Football’s technical director.

In a statement yesterday, NZF president Deryck Shaw said he had accepted Heraf’s resignation effectively immediately. He said a review into New Zealand Football’s “culture” and Heraf’s actions as national coach would continue and Heraf had agreed to co-operate.

Shaw said “part of the resignation is that Andreas has confirmed that he will fully participate in the review and we will look to the findings of the review to determine the outcomes around this matter.”

Heraf’s resignation follows that of NZF chief executive Andy Martin who quit the organization earlier this month. Martin resigned citing family reasons but was under pressure to explain when he first knew of concerns about Heraf’s coaching style. AP