Soccer: Smeltz walkout unlikely factor in China refusal

China turned down a chance to play the All Whites in this country but New Zealand Football said it had nothing to do with Shane Smeltz walking out on a deal to play in China.

NZF want to find an opponent for the All Whites in October and had been in talks with China and Paraguay. The South Americans remain an option, although it looks increasingly unlikely, but China indicated they wouldn't be coming here.

NZF chief executive Michael Glading didn't believe it had anything to do with Smeltz reneging on his deal with Chinese Super Club outfit Shandong Luneng. The Chinese club were reported to be upset by Smeltz's departure after only five days and many suggested there could be ramifications for New Zealand football.

"I wouldn't know for sure but I think the two are unrelated," Glading said. "We have been talking to China for three or four weeks but right from the outset they wanted to play two games in New Zealand and our preference was to play only one.

"We hadn't ruled it out but we really only wanted one. If we were going to play two games, we wanted to have two different opposition rather than play them twice.

"We weren't dealing directly with the Chinese FA, rather a match agent, which is normal. But we have had a letter from the director of the Chinese FA explaining they wouldn't be coming down here but instead inviting us to China to play in a later window. I wouldn't have thought we would get that invitation if there was an issue [with Smeltz]."

Uncertainty still surrounds the reasons for Smeltz's departure only days after agreeing to a two-year $1 million deal.

He would only say there were "personal issues" with the most plausible being that he didn't feel his young family could settle in Jinan. The All Whites striker and two-time A-League golden boot winner is expected to turn out for Gold Coast again.

China are ranked 78 and have only ever qualified for one World Cup (2002) but are unbeaten in their last 16 games. Most have been friendlies and against lesser-ranked teams but they beat France 1-0 and South Korea 3-0 in World Cup warm-ups and drew with Japan (0-0). There is also an expanding Chinese community in New Zealand that would have helped draw a healthy crowd and keep the game cost neutral for NZF.

The All Whites have played China 11 times, the most notable being the 2-1 victory in Singapore which confirmed New Zealand's place at the 1982 Word Cup. The last match was in Guangzhou in 2000 when China won 1-0.