Jerry Hospedales, chairman of San Juan Jabloteh says his team will be making an appeal today or tomorrow to the Caribbean Football Union Disciplinary Committee over the US$5,000 imposed on the club for its part in a brawl with Puerto Rico’s River Plate on April 18.
The fine for the club which was also placed on probabtion for the next six months was handed down by CFU on Thursday after an investigation into a brawl between players from River Plate and Jabloteh at the end of their second round CFU Club Champions Cup Group D match at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, on April 18.
During the match four players including Jabloteh’s Cyrano Glen were issued red cards by Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell and the quartet along with other players found guility of poor conduct during the melee, were also slapped with fines and match bans in some instances.
Following the investigation headed by CFU Disciplinary Committee chairman, Jamaica’s captain, Horace Burrell Glen, was fined US$500 and banned two matches. However, when contacted for comment, Hospedales, who stated he was yet to get the official informaion from CFU, said: “The fine imposed on our club clearly is not understood.
It’s is totaly inconsistent with what transpired at the venue on the day of the match.
“We have been slapped with a fine and up to now we have not been told what we were being fined for or what rule we were in breach off. Jabloteh coach, Englishman Terry Fenwick added, “We (Jabloteh) surely cannot be blamed for what happened in the match or at the end of it.
There were no security officials at the venue and from looking at what happened, it was clear to see that in the end, it became nescessary for our players to defend themslves after they were coming under attack.”
Meanwhile River Plate president Steven Alvarez has also expressed his displeasure with the ruling and has threatened to take the matter to the Court of Arbitration of Sports. River Plate was handed a fine of US$10,000 and placed on probabtion for the rest of the year.
Its coach Argentine Fabian Zermatten and five players were also handed bans totalling 24 matches and US$8,000 combined.
Zermatten was suspended for five matches and a fined US$2,000; Lucas Masilla fined US$2,000 and suspended for six matches; Jose Rodriguez fined US$1,000 and suspended for three matches; Raul Oswaldo Ruiz suspended for five matches and fined US$2,000; Maximiliano Vallejo suspended for three matches and fined US$500 and Jorge Alfredo Gonzales, suspended for two matches and also fined US$500.