Steven Holloway: How did it come to this?

New Zealand player Deklan Wynne in action during the FIFA Under-20 World Cup match between New Zealand and USA. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Was it administrative incompetence - or an outrageous gamble?

As the Oly Whites fly home from an Olympic qualifying tournament that will long live in our sporting infamy, the Kiwi public are still coming to grips with exactly what New Zealand Football has done.

Fifa statutes seem clear. Deklan Wynne, a South African born defender who has no bloodline to New Zealand, was not eligible to represent the Oly Whites.

But somehow, someone allowed it to happen. And the repercussions for New Zealand Football could stretch all the way to the 2018 World Cup.

New Zealand Football is lodging a formal appeal, which is likely to take months, with Oceania Football regarding the eligibility of Wynne for the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Papua New Guinea.

Today CEO Andy Martin said they'd received confirmation of eligibility of the squad from the Pacific Games Council in advance of the tournament.

Problem is Fifa statutes easily trump Pacific Games in terms of determining the status of players for an event as important as Olympic qualifying. And besides, New Zealand is not a member of the Pacific Games council or the Pacific Games.

And it's a bit hollow for New Zealand Football to say it has acted in good faith and expected any issues on player eligibility to have been raised in advance.

It's timely to recall how in January NZ Football was quick to fine national league entity WaiBop United $2000 for a clerical error made with the registration of a player - despite that club having also acted in similar good faith. For better or worse, football is a code unforgiving of administrative errors.

But how did it come to this?

Nine months ago, All Whites coach Anthony Hudson set off on a round-the-world quest to find talented footballers who were eligible to play for New Zealand.

Their required ancestral heritage seemed clear. Ryan De Vries had to wait till he was 23 (five years in New Zealand after he turned 18) to represent his country - as per the Fifa rules. And Andrew Durante had to jump through hoops to get the Fifa green light to play for the All Whites in 2013.

Bottom line: New Zealand Football know their eligibility rules. So who stuffed up here? Or was it some sort of crazy calculated roll of the dice?

Wynne may not be alone. The under 23 squad has four other overseas born players and at this point it's unclear whether they would be hamstrung by the same ruling.

Because the rewards of getting to the Olympics are so great, did NZF perhaps push the envelope?

Wynne was able to play at the Fifa U 20 World Cup. How was that allowed to happen?

New Zealand Football's fractured relationship with OFC hasn't helped either. After returning from the Fifa Congress in June NZF boss Andy Martin hinted that he thought OFC had created an unfavourable Pacific Games draw to smite NZF for their 'breakaway' decisions they made in Zurich.

And when Hudson called the Pacific Games "crazy" and "substandard" before even touching down in Port Moresby, they put themselves further offside with the Confederation and its Member Associations.

With the loss of an Olympic campaign, three warm-up matches, and a reputation now badly sullied, a lot of questions need answering.

Indeed, Waibop United officials could be excused for suggesting NZ Football fine itself some horrendous figure.

But at the very least someone needs to own up to one of New Zealand sport's biggest mistakes.