The president of New Zealand Football, Deryck Shaw, has resigned in the wake of a bullying scandal surrounding the national women’s team.

Former coach Andreas Heraf was found to have “bullied and harassed” players, who then refused to play for him.

Shaw apologised for the lack of action over the allegations and said he was leaving “for the good of the game”.

“It is appropriate that I resign from my role as president to allow football to move forward,” he said.

“This is my decision as the head of the organisation and it is the right thing to do.”

An independent review found NZF failed to stop bullying, harassment and intimidation by Austrian Heraf despite 12 complaints by Football Ferns players.

Heraf, who quit in July, was initially backed former NZF chief executive Andy Martin, who also resigned in the wake of the bullying accusations.

Shaw’s deputy Phil Barry will be acting president until the next NZF congress in 2019.