{"id":497054,"date":"2026-01-23T06:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=497054"},"modified":"2026-03-27T05:25:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:25:43","slug":"former-png-boss-claims-he-was-sacked-following-messy-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=497054","title":{"rendered":"Former PNG boss claims he was sacked following messy exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

F\ufefformer PNG Chiefs<\/a> chairman Ray Dib<\/a> has claimed he was sacked from his role and did not quit after a change in leadership this week.<\/p>\n

Dib was named the inaugural boss of the club's board but has since been replaced by Catherine Harris. \ufeff<\/p>\n

In a short statement on Wednesday, the NRL announced the decision but gave limited clarity on what happened with Dib.<\/p>\n

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"Catherine Harris today replaces Ray Dib as chair of the PNG<\/a> Chiefs," the statement read.<\/p>\n

"A leading Australian businesswoman for many decades, Ms Harris brings a wealth of corporate expertise and senior governance experience to the role. She has served as an inaugural board member of the PNG Chiefs since 2025 and was previously an Australian Rugby League commissioner.<\/p>\n

"Outgoing chair Ray Dib will depart the board and we take the opportunity to thank Ray for his efforts in the establishment and early development of the PNG Chiefs."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dib has since provided his side of the story in a statement.<\/p>\n

"I did not walk away," Dib wrote.<\/p>\n

"I am disappointed I was unable to complete my tenure with the PNG Chiefs, as I had always intended to see our journey through. I did not resign because I believe in PNG and its people.<\/p>\n

"I sincerely appreciate the support from Prime Minister James Marape, the Australian DFAT team, the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby, especially HC Ewen McDonald, the PNG community, and the business sector.<\/p>\n

"My gratitude also goes to the PNG Chiefs board members who supported me, the PNGRFL, the NRL staff and to Nick Politis for recommending me for this opportunity and for his support.<\/p>\n

"I genuinely wish the best for everyone involved with the PNG Chiefs. The country truly deserves success."<\/p>\n

\"PNG<\/p>\n

It marks a messy start for PNG two years before the club enters the NRL.<\/p>\n

Businesswoman Lorna McPherson \ufeffwas promoted from the board to chief executive officer last week after Andrew Hill became Panthers group CEO.<\/p>\n

Dib came to the club with a wealth of experience, \ufeffhaving previously been Canterbury Bulldogs chairman and also serving on the board of the NSWRL.<\/p>\n

The PNG club should have a high level of scrutiny attached to it too, considering its taxpayer funded after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a $600m government deal for the club's formation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

F\ufefformer PNG Chiefs chairman Ray Dib has claimed he was sacked from his role and did not quit after a change in leadership this week. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=497054"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":497059,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497054\/revisions\/497059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/497056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=497054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=497054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=497054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}