THREE female board members and the chief executive of Victorian soccer’s governing body have resigned amid claims of internal turmoil and board tensions.Former Matildas star Tal Karp and fellow board members Sandra Lordanic and Tammi Rose quit the FFV board late last week after growing disillusioned with recent executive decision making.Interim chief executive Cathy Acocks resigned on Friday, after the total number of directors to depart the board reached six in the past 12 months.The Herald Sun believes the most recent resignations were triggered by a decision to overturn a penalty against a former board director.Senior Melbourne lawyer Aldrin De Zilva was banned from soccer matches in Victoria for two years in June, 2014 for abusing a 17-year-old female referee.He was found guilty of misconduct for directing “offensive, insulting and/or abusive language’’ toward the referee during a match between Dandenong Thunder and Goulburn Valley Suns at Shepparton. But, despite the two-year ban recently elapsing, the decision was annulled at a recent FFV board meeting. Sources say the board members jointly resigned on a point of principle when the peak body reversed the decision of an independent umpire.In a statement responding to Herald Sun questions last night, the three board members said they “did not make the decision to resign lightly’’.“The board’s governance and decision making processes are inconsistent with our expectations of appropriate board processes,’’ they said.“In particular, we are unable to accept the approach taken by the board in respect of a recent decision, which we believe compromises our role as directors.“We felt unable to remain as directors of this board under these circumstances.’’Mr De Zilva welcomed the board’s backflip as “a virtuous conclusion’’. “The FFV board has overturned the tribunal’s decision and have provided to me a full apology,’’ he saidIt is believed the Andrews Government, which provides funding to the FFV, is watching the situation closely.The FFV board is bound by a code of conduct and if it is found to have acted outside its obligations, funding could be cut.FFV did not return calls to the Herald Sun on Monday.
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