Football purge won’t stop at two
There are likely to be more casualties from the ongoing Andreas Heraf saga.
While many in the sport probably hoped that the resignation of the controversial Austrian, following the earlier exit of New Zealand Football CEO Andy Martin, would bring a sad and damaging chapter to a close, it won't be the case.
In fact, it might just be the beginning.
The Herald understands that several other people who worked with Heraf in the Football Ferns environment will also come under close scrutiny in the current investigation.
It wasn't a happy camp, both on the March tour to Spain and especially in Wellington, before the 1-3 loss to Japan in June, and others will be under the microscope.
Aside from how they carried out their individual roles, there are also questions over the degree to which Heraf's pattern of behaviour was condoned or, even worse, facilitated by, his staff.
It's a grey area, as any head coach holds a lot of power, and Heraf had more than most, but it seems likely that others will be under pressure to retain their roles in the set-up.
The position of All Whites coach Fritz Schmid will also be under examination. The affable Swiss hasn't been associated with any of this mess, and must sometimes wonder what he has got himself into, as he watches the walls cave in around him at NZF.
But the appointment process that saw Schmid given the job will be examined, as will the relevant correspondence between Martin and Heraf on the matter.
With the removal of his two principal backers, Schmid may feel that part of his mandate is gone, though much will depend on the view of the new
CEO, who isn't likely to be appointed until close to the end of the year. At a higher level, some members of the NZF board are also coming under increasing pressure, which will only intensify as the review progresses.
As more damaging revelations emerge about Martin's stewardship of NZF, and there are surely more to come, one overriding question becomes more and more apparent.
How was Martin allowed to get away with so much, for so long? His behaviour around the Claire Hamilton situation, where NZF was eventually forced to issue a public apology to the former Ferns manager, was instructive. Martin claimed publicly there were performance issues with Hamilton, which was later proven to be a lie.
It revealed much about Martin's behavioural pattern and was probably the tip of the iceberg.
But the NZF executive committee backed Martin, his modus operandi and his decision-making process for years.
There appeared to be little accountability for the former CEO to the board, which will become increasingly harder to justify and explain.
NZF chairman Deryck Shaw will be under the most pressure, as he, along with former deputy Michael Anderson were seen as Martin's closest supporters.
Anderson was voted off the executive at the national congress in May, which was a surprise at the time but perhaps accurately reflected the mood of the grassroots.
But aside from Shaw, other senior, long-serving board members will also be on notice, for presiding over such an awful chapter in NZF history.