High Court seeks TTFF accounts in Warriors 2006 World Cup bonus case.
By Denyse Renne (T&T Express).
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The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) have been ordered to open their accounting books for a thorough inspection by the High Court of T&T.
The order was made on Monday afternoon by High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad as he presided in the San Fernando High Court
Rampersad gave the TTFF until December 13, at 10 a.m., to have the books tendered.
This latest ruling pushes 16 members of the Trinidad and Tobago national team at the 2006 World Cup Finals, fondly known as the Soca Warriors, a step closer to receiving money they claim is owed to them based on a promise made by TTFF special adviser and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.
The books to be tendered include all commercial revenue associated with the players in their build-up to the 2006 FIFA tournament, which was held in Germany.
The players who filed the lawsuit against the TTFF, and by extension Federation president Oliver Camps, are Brent Sancho, Marvin Andrews, Shaka Hislop, Kelvin Jack, Atiba Charles, Cyd Gray, Ian Cox, Avery John, Chris Birchall, Aurtis Whitley, Collin Samuel, Evans Wise, Anthony Wolfe, Cornell Glen, Kenwyne Jones and Stern John.
Warner has also been named in the suit.
At Monday's hearing, the TTFF through their attorneys offered a collective interim payment through the courts of $1 million.
But this figure was dismissed by attorneys representing the footballers, since the players in their lawsuit had requested an interim payment of roughly $1.8 million each and their share of the $88 million which the TTFF claimed to have received as World Cup commercial revenue.
Sources affiliated with the TTFF say they will be using all legal options in a bid to block this latest move. It is expected attorneys representing the TTFF will soon approach the courts.
Monday's High Court decision came on the heels of an article which appeared in the London Guardian newspaper.
In the article, former T&T goalkeeper Hislop took a stab at Warner, accusing the current Minister of Works and Transport of reneging on promises made during the World Cup campaign.
"Warner made promises," Hislop said. "We were told we would get 50 per cent of all the commercial money. When we were eventually told what that would be it was TT$5,000 [£492.86] a man , which we knew it could not be.
"There were contracts made that we signed with Adidas and a number of other companies around Trinidad and Tobago.
"The TTFF was happy to brag about the size of those contracts. We made our feelings known and questioned Jack Warner's accounting skills. The TTFF is about Warner and almost no one else," added Hislop.
The article further quoted Hislop as saying he felt let down, despite the national team's qualification for the World Cup.
"It was our proudest moment as a football nation and once the offer was made of TT$5,000 a man we felt desperately let down. It was a slap in the face of everything we had done and how we had made the country feel," Hislop said.
Earlier this month, the TTFF 's application for a stay was dismissed by Appeal Court Judge Rajendra Narine.
The TTFF had appealed Rampersad's July 29 order requesting they honor their bonus agreement with the players.
Rampersad had also ordered the TTFF to absorb the legal costs on behalf of the players.
The matter started when court proceedings were filed in November 2008, at the Port of Spain High Court, where the 16 players demanded the High Court enforce the judgement of the London-based Sport Dispute Resolution Panel (SDRP).
The SDRP had ruled in May 2008 that under the terms of a contract--agreed by Warner--the Soca Warriors were owed 50 per cent of all 2006 World Cup commercial revenue.
However, the TTFF claimed that a breach of confidentiality by the players meant they (TTFF) were no longer obligated by the agreement.
Following weeks of arguments, Rampersad ruled in favour of the players. However, the TTFF and Camps appealed the decision, hoping to have it nullified.
Attorneys Om Lalla and Kelvin Ramkissoon appeared on behalf of the TTFF, while attorneys Dave DePeiza and George Hislop are seeking the interest of the footballers.
