British press: Warner dictating financial terms.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express). Rooney excused from T&T tripSaturday, May 24th 2008
FIFA vice-president and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special adviser Jack Warner claimed, earlier this week, that the England FA (Football Association) owned the television rights for the June 1 Centennial match between England and the "Soca Warriors" as one of several conditions they insisted on before agreeing to visit Trinidad.
"This match is costing us $15 million," said Warner, on Tuesday. "We have sold $7.8 million in tickets. Where is the rest of the money going to come from?"
Yesterday, the T&TFF reiterated that they had not benefitted from the sale of television rights.
"TV rights were given to the English FA for England and Europe as a condition precedent for them to play in Trinidad," stated the T&TFF. "To date, no one has contracted with the TTFF for the TV rights of the Caribbean or the Americas or even Trinidad.
"Accordingly, no commercial revenue has been received to date by the TTFF for TV rights."
But, in Britain, Warner is thought to have a much bigger influence on the financial aspects of this match than he claims locally and it is a controversial topic at the London-based FA.
"There is particular disquiet that the (England) FA is allowing Jack Warner, the controversial vice-president of FIFA, to dictate the financial terms of the visit by Fabio Capello's England squad," wrote the Times chief sports correspondent, Matt Dickinson, yesterday.
Warner has said little about the revenue expected from the friendly apart from ticket sales. However, it does not appear that the English FA would be the party to cash in on the fixture.
The FA, according to the British press, is allegedly willing to accept a "small" financial loss with the hope that Warner backs their expected bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
"With so many superstars in the England team, which allows the hosts to cash in through gate money and television rights," stated the Times, "the FA would normally drive a hard bargain and come home with a healthy profit.
"But experienced FA politicians will say that the 'small loss' is a price that has to be paid if England are to be serious bidders for 2018, given Warner's influence at FIFA."
It has been a busy week for Warner and the T&TFF.
On Monday, the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel in London released a decision that the T&TFF owed their World Cup players 50 per cent of all revenue related to the tournament and criticised Warner and T&TFF general secretary Richard Groden for their absence from the hearing.
But Warner quickly eclipsed the players' legal victory when, on Tuesday, he instructed his attorney to threaten action against the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs over rental fees for the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Warner raised the possibility of cancelling the June 1 fixture, although Sport Minister Gary Hunt dismissed the threat as "posturing" and insisted that the parties would come to an agreement.
But if the England friendly does come off, as expected, patrons may be disappointed by the expected absence of Manchester United star Wayne Rooney and Chelsea offensive midfielder Frank Lampard.
The British media revealed yesterday that Capello is considering a rest for eight players from United and Chelsea who featured in Wednesday's Champions League final in Moscow.
It means that Rooney, England's key player since the 2004 European tournament, Chelsea's Champion League final scorer Lampard and past and present England captains John Terry and Rio Ferdinand could miss the fixture in Port of Spain. All four took part in England's 2-0 World Cup win over the Soca Warriors two years ago.
Chelsea winger and 2007/08 player of the season, Joe Cole, and left back Ashley Cole, who also featured against Trinidad and Tobago in Germany, might also be excused, along with the versatile Manchester United pair of defender Wes Brown and midfielder Owen Hargreaves.
Prolific international scorer and 2001 European Player of the Year, Michael Owen, is already ruled out with the virus, while Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas is another injury doubt.
"(Capello) now acknowledges that the exercise is not worthwhile if some individuals are mentally and physically exhausted or hampered by injuries," wrote UK Guardian writer Kevin McCarra. "With many players suffering from cramp on Wednesday, United and Chelsea looked on the verge of collapse after their packed programme."
The players would be assessed by the FA's physiotherapists and may still be used for their clash with the United States at Wembley, later this month. But some, if not all, of the eight would be permitted to skip their visit to Trinidad although England should still travel with stars like David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch.
"England will not want to leave too many players behind," stated the Times, "given that impressing Warner is a priority."
Last August, Warner told the BBC that, apart from inventing the game, England "never made any impact on world football" and he was "quite sure" England's proposed World Cup bid would fail as "nobody in Europe likes England".
Warner subsequently claimed that his BBC interview reflected the opinion of other "football grandees" and he was happy with England's bid.
INFLUENCE: Jack Warner, FIFA vice-president and special adviser to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, announces details of the friendly international between Trinidad and Tobago and England during a press conference at Hyatt Regency Hotel last month. The teams are set to meet on June 1 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. -Photo: Anisto Alves
