T&T players reject Warner offer
Friday, 21 November 2008 08:02 Lasana Liburd (T&T Express)
English barrister Michael Townley and several "Soca Warriors" yesterday rubbished suggestions from FIFA vice-president and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) special adviser Jack Warner that financial settlements were reached with the "majority" of 2006 World Cup players regarding their bonus dispute. The Express can confirm that the TTFF will make payments to World Cup team captain Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy, Dennis Lawrence, Carlos Edwards, Clayton Ince, Jason Scotland and Densill Theobald, who were not a part of the legal action taken against the body.
Thirty-two-year-old Scotland-based defender Marvin Andrews, who has been without a club since May, has broken ranks with the rebels and would settle, while there is speculation that Scotland First Division winger Collin Samuel will do likewise.
But the remaining 14 squad members, according to Townley, are "prepared to stand the course" and rejected a sum understood to be $186,000 (US$30,000) per player.
Townley's clients are Shaka Hislop, Kelvin Jack, Ian Cox, Cyd Gray, Atiba Charles, Brent Sancho, Avery John, Chris Birchall, Aurtis Whitley, Evans Wise, Anthony Wolfe, Cornell Glen, Kenwyne Jones and Stern John.
The TTFF have been at odds with 16 players from their 23-man World Cup squad since October 2006 when they offered $5,644.08 each to the players, who were verbally promised half of all revenue from the country's Germany adventure.
Most of the Warriors refused and hired Townley who led them to a victory over the TTFF in the London-based Sports Dispute Resolution Panel in May 2008.
The arbitration body ordered the TTFF to open their accounts for scrutiny, so as to ascertain what the players are owed, but Warner attempted to offset their judgment as he met with several World Cup players at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port of Spain on Monday and told the media, two days later, that the dispute was over.
 "We have come to the dawn of a new era through the initiative of Peter O' Connor...to settle the outstanding dispute since 2006," said Warner, on Wednesday. "Today we have done just that and we have agreed to a settlement out-of-court figure, which the majority of players have agreed to and which sum we shall pay today or in a couple days time."