March 28, 2024, 04:37:47 PM

Author Topic: FIFA appoints normalisation committee for Trinidad and Tobago football  (Read 102836 times)

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Offline pull stones

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Here we have another trafficker of ignorance dressed up as irrefutable truth. I'm beginning to wonder about the longevity of the English-speaking Caribbean and the prospect of coexisting progressive values.
you are a very informed bloke so I want to ask a pertinent question. It seem to be the narrative among most football gurus in trinidad that the normalization committee will eventually fix all the debt and FIFA would pay it off and the new president would have a debt free tenure come next election, but i seriously doubt that, can you clarify?

Offline asylumseeker

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Here we have another trafficker of ignorance dressed up as irrefutable truth. I'm beginning to wonder about the longevity of the English-speaking Caribbean and the prospect of coexisting progressive values.
you are a very informed bloke so I want to ask a pertinent question. It seem to be the narrative among most football gurus in trinidad that the normalization committee will eventually fix all the debt and FIFA would pay it off and the new president would have a debt free tenure come next election, but i seriously doubt that, can you clarify?

As that would be a departure from the ordinary expectation and approach, those who espouse that view should take to the airwaves to articulate - without speculation or obfuscation - why the circumstances of the TTFA are outside the ordinary. Dahis where de rubber meets de road. I wouldn't bet on dem touching down to speak publicly and transparently.

I will touch this topic again building on a response I had to a post by GOP.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2020, 11:55:53 AM by asylumseeker »

Offline pull stones

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Here we have another trafficker of ignorance dressed up as irrefutable truth. I'm beginning to wonder about the longevity of the English-speaking Caribbean and the prospect of coexisting progressive values.
you are a very informed bloke so I want to ask a pertinent question. It seem to be the narrative among most football gurus in trinidad that the normalization committee will eventually fix all the debt and FIFA would pay it off and the new president would have a debt free tenure come next election, but i seriously doubt that, can you clarify?

As that would be a departure from the ordinary expectation and approach, those who espouse that view should take to the airwaves to articulate - without speculation or obfuscation - why the circumstances of the TTFA are outside the ordinary. Dahis where de rubber meets de road. I wouldn't bet on dem touching down to speak publicly and transparently.

I will touch this topic again building on a response I had to a post by GOP.
so from all the information you've gathered since this whole debacle, do you believe that fifa would be paying this 50 million debt off, or are these foolish people in football only deceiving themselves, because if FIFA wants to pay off the debt, then if i was WW I would step aside and allow them too,

but somehow from the first article I read on the installation of the normalization committee I understood that they are only there to formulate a payment plan and would not be taking on any debt relief ala paying off one thin dime of the ttfa debt, can you or anyone else correct me if I’m wrong?

Offline asylumseeker

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Here we have another trafficker of ignorance dressed up as irrefutable truth. I'm beginning to wonder about the longevity of the English-speaking Caribbean and the prospect of coexisting progressive values.
you are a very informed bloke so I want to ask a pertinent question. It seem to be the narrative among most football gurus in trinidad that the normalization committee will eventually fix all the debt and FIFA would pay it off and the new president would have a debt free tenure come next election, but i seriously doubt that, can you clarify?

As that would be a departure from the ordinary expectation and approach, those who espouse that view should take to the airwaves to articulate - without speculation or obfuscation - why the circumstances of the TTFA are outside the ordinary. Dahis where de rubber meets de road. I wouldn't bet on dem touching down to speak publicly and transparently.

I will touch this topic again building on a response I had to a post by GOP.
so from all the information you've gathered since this whole debacle, do you believe that fifa would be paying this 50 million debt off, or are these foolish people in football only deceiving themselves, because if FIFA wants to pay off the debt, then if i was WW I would step aside and allow them too,

but somehow from the first article I read on the installation of the normalization committee I understood that they are only there to formulate a payment plan and would not be taking on any debt relief ala paying off one thin dime of the ttfa debt, can you or anyone else correct me if I’m wrong?

Those on one side have gradually crafted a narrative that positions WW as being an obstacle to progress. Who is defined as obstructionist is correlated to how one defines progress and the agenda one wants advanced at the TTFA.

The CAS appeal and its ancillary events (bank account, letterhead, salaries etc.) inherently bring a demonization of the elected TTFA directorate because they are public actions that necessarily require non-cooperating responses.

The question is: are there any other actors whose actions are to be viewed as obstructionist? If the answer to that question is yes, those actors are not taking actions that are engaging the public attention of stakeholders. The battle is being waged in the court of public opinion and privately.

Ask yourself why FIFA wouldn't merely state to WW and company and the nation, if you (WW ) back off we will resolve the TTFA's affairs and settle its debt. And ask yourself whether FIFA could make that represention explicitly.

Be wary of narratives that traffic absolutes.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2020, 06:29:57 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline Deeks

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I do hope WW keep his distance from JW. I do not want that man anywhere near our football. As much as we went to the WC under him, his actions has caused unimaginable damage to our football. It made managing the financial aspects of our football impotent. >:(
« Last Edit: May 10, 2020, 12:41:19 PM by Deeks »

Offline Controversial

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So I guess I got my answer  :D :rotfl:

Fenwick lucky Wallace and LL select him, SH would have backed Wallace and saw thru this fifa undermining and supported the rest right position

Fenwick so thirsty to coach the national team that his morality is starting to crumble ...

Smh

Offline Tiresais

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Fenwick has never shown you any other side. Very talented manager and one of the best in our country, but nothing about his past should have made you expect another outcome. The guy loves football and wants to manage the NT, simple.

Offline Tallman

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FIFA’s Normalisation Committee: Underhanded colonialism?
« Reply #397 on: May 13, 2020, 04:39:31 PM »
FIFA’s Normalisation Committee: Underhanded colonialism?
By Colin Murray (T&T Guardian)


The battle rages on between FIFA, the ex-TTFA (T&T Football Association) executive and periodically, FIFA’s imposed Normalisation Committee. Hopefully, the government has received the message and is staying out.

Strangely enough, I haven’t heard about the salaries owed to staff but up to Tuesday, they remained unpaid and addressing this is supposedly the first assignment of the normalisation committee.

Surely, by now, some arrangement should have been worked out with FIFA and that funding ought to have been enough to pay the salaries of the employees. Perhaps the normalisation committee should give it to the ex-TTFA officials to pay the employees; after all, it is cruel for them to remain unpaid.

But one thing remains abundantly clear of the 33 FIFA members placed under a normalisation committee since 2004: only one was not fully guilty of all the infractions cited by FIFA that would trigger the enaction of a normalisation committee. Can you take a guess which one? These so-called normalisation committees are often perceived as FIFA’s most lethal weapon designed to either remove an association’s executive or work alongside its members when they wish.

But in most cases, the former is chosen simply because those running the member association are not allies of FIFA’s hierarchy. The former TTFA executive was working on a long-term plan to reduce its debt and implement sustainable financial management policies and procedures. After all, they were in office for only three months which begs so many questions on what exactly influenced the imposition of this normalisation committee.

Cast your mind back or undertake some personal research to find out who was openly one of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s earliest and eventual strongest allies in the Caribbean region? Who was the first Caribbean Football Union (CFU) member association president to support Infantino’s presidential campaign in 2016?

Then let us not forget Infantino’s visit to T&T just six days before the TTFA’s election in November 2019 to support his obvious preferred candidate who lost the election and all hell then, unfortunately, broke loose.

How dare these obnoxious, democratically elected voters not vote for Infantino’s main man? After all, the debt was growing, football was going backward, our men’s team could only beat Anguilla and our women looked disjointed and lacked any team spirit. But most importantly, FIFA was notified through various means about the brewing disaster within T&T’s football and was repeatedly requested to intervene from 2017 - 2019 and decided to do nothing. Why?

Presently in Kenya, the country’s highest sports arbitration body, the Sports Disputes Tribunal has formally requested FIFA to step in and appoint a normalisation committee for the purpose of holding the elections of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF). This request was made on February 17, 2020 and nothing has happened with Kenya’s football elections.

I could go back to 2017 and rehash the state of Kenya’s football and the ongoing problems but that is their business. However, all I will say is just guess who the president of FKF is a strong ally of and you will understand why no normalisation committee has moved into their football.

Do I still need to point out why a normalisation committee was put in place here in T&T’s football? It certainly had very little to do with the state and finances of our football which it should have done over two and a half years ago. But like a spoiled child, a grown man in FIFA did not get the toy he wanted for Christmas and uses the weapon of a normalisation committee to scar our football. Yet still, we have people in this country openly approving this dirty underhand take over of our democratically elected officials.

I must say, I was extremely disappointed to hear the men’s national coach’s comments on this impasse but I do understand he has a job to protect. The gentleman’s indisputable passion for the game of football is second to none. I know many are suffering from this dispute with football fans upset but sometimes it is better to not comment. Your job, when the time arises, is to coach and get results for our national team and I want to hear what your plans are for taking T&T’s football forward. As a national coach, it is best to stay out of politics.

Then there are those from outside like the former chairman of FIFA’s 2014 normalisation committee appointed to Guyana. Quite frankly, I don’t wish to hear from him unless he is going to first tell us just how different were the circumstances in which that normalisation committee was appointed. For him to say, “I sympathise with Wallace and his team, I know how they feel…” shows that he lacks any understanding of this issue. Surprisingly enough, the former Chairman made mention that, “... in 2015 there were talks to appoint a normalisation committee (to T&T) so it really does not make a difference if it is appointed now.” Oh no Sir, it does make a difference.

Remember, in 2015 a new kid came on the block and supported a certain person running for FIFA president so naturally, the idea of a normalisation committee was then dead and buried until that new kid lost the election in 2019. Former chairman of Guyana’s normalisation committee, minding your own business can be challenging indeed.

Then there is the president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), who says the body is not dead but his association is like a ghost so it may as well be dead. You see, there is no longer unity in Caribbean football. It is each for thyself and those who survive, fine, but those sinking, let them sink because you can get into serious difficulty with no assistance from FIFA.

No one has the fortitude quite like Jack Warner did to say to Infantino and company, give this newly elected executive a chance; assign someone from FIFA to work with them and let them find their way out of this mess they inherited. But instead, FIFA comes with this colonialist-style of imposition with a normalisation committee to essentially rob a new executive of a chance to sort out its own affairs and there are people here in support of this.

I will continue to tell William Wallace to listen to Robert Nestor Marley, "Get up stand up, stand up for your rights".
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

Offline maxg

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Jack was quite good and pointed in the Andre interview on sports talk on tten.
Don’t know if Anyone has a link.

Offline Controversial

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FIFA’s Normalisation Committee: Underhanded colonialism?
By Colin Murray (T&T Guardian)


The battle rages on between FIFA, the ex-TTFA (T&T Football Association) executive and periodically, FIFA’s imposed Normalisation Committee. Hopefully, the government has received the message and is staying out.

Strangely enough, I haven’t heard about the salaries owed to staff but up to Tuesday, they remained unpaid and addressing this is supposedly the first assignment of the normalisation committee.

Surely, by now, some arrangement should have been worked out with FIFA and that funding ought to have been enough to pay the salaries of the employees. Perhaps the normalisation committee should give it to the ex-TTFA officials to pay the employees; after all, it is cruel for them to remain unpaid.

But one thing remains abundantly clear of the 33 FIFA members placed under a normalisation committee since 2004: only one was not fully guilty of all the infractions cited by FIFA that would trigger the enaction of a normalisation committee. Can you take a guess which one? These so-called normalisation committees are often perceived as FIFA’s most lethal weapon designed to either remove an association’s executive or work alongside its members when they wish.

But in most cases, the former is chosen simply because those running the member association are not allies of FIFA’s hierarchy. The former TTFA executive was working on a long-term plan to reduce its debt and implement sustainable financial management policies and procedures. After all, they were in office for only three months which begs so many questions on what exactly influenced the imposition of this normalisation committee.

Cast your mind back or undertake some personal research to find out who was openly one of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s earliest and eventual strongest allies in the Caribbean region? Who was the first Caribbean Football Union (CFU) member association president to support Infantino’s presidential campaign in 2016?

Then let us not forget Infantino’s visit to T&T just six days before the TTFA’s election in November 2019 to support his obvious preferred candidate who lost the election and all hell then, unfortunately, broke loose.

How dare these obnoxious, democratically elected voters not vote for Infantino’s main man? After all, the debt was growing, football was going backward, our men’s team could only beat Anguilla and our women looked disjointed and lacked any team spirit. But most importantly, FIFA was notified through various means about the brewing disaster within T&T’s football and was repeatedly requested to intervene from 2017 - 2019 and decided to do nothing. Why?

Presently in Kenya, the country’s highest sports arbitration body, the Sports Disputes Tribunal has formally requested FIFA to step in and appoint a normalisation committee for the purpose of holding the elections of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF). This request was made on February 17, 2020 and nothing has happened with Kenya’s football elections.

I could go back to 2017 and rehash the state of Kenya’s football and the ongoing problems but that is their business. However, all I will say is just guess who the president of FKF is a strong ally of and you will understand why no normalisation committee has moved into their football.

Do I still need to point out why a normalisation committee was put in place here in T&T’s football? It certainly had very little to do with the state and finances of our football which it should have done over two and a half years ago. But like a spoiled child, a grown man in FIFA did not get the toy he wanted for Christmas and uses the weapon of a normalisation committee to scar our football. Yet still, we have people in this country openly approving this dirty underhand take over of our democratically elected officials.

I must say, I was extremely disappointed to hear the men’s national coach’s comments on this impasse but I do understand he has a job to protect. The gentleman’s indisputable passion for the game of football is second to none. I know many are suffering from this dispute with football fans upset but sometimes it is better to not comment. Your job, when the time arises, is to coach and get results for our national team and I want to hear what your plans are for taking T&T’s football forward. As a national coach, it is best to stay out of politics.

Then there are those from outside like the former chairman of FIFA’s 2014 normalisation committee appointed to Guyana. Quite frankly, I don’t wish to hear from him unless he is going to first tell us just how different were the circumstances in which that normalisation committee was appointed. For him to say, “I sympathise with Wallace and his team, I know how they feel…” shows that he lacks any understanding of this issue. Surprisingly enough, the former Chairman made mention that, “... in 2015 there were talks to appoint a normalisation committee (to T&T) so it really does not make a difference if it is appointed now.” Oh no Sir, it does make a difference.

Remember, in 2015 a new kid came on the block and supported a certain person running for FIFA president so naturally, the idea of a normalisation committee was then dead and buried until that new kid lost the election in 2019. Former chairman of Guyana’s normalisation committee, minding your own business can be challenging indeed.

Then there is the president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), who says the body is not dead but his association is like a ghost so it may as well be dead. You see, there is no longer unity in Caribbean football. It is each for thyself and those who survive, fine, but those sinking, let them sink because you can get into serious difficulty with no assistance from FIFA.

No one has the fortitude quite like Jack Warner did to say to Infantino and company, give this newly elected executive a chance; assign someone from FIFA to work with them and let them find their way out of this mess they inherited. But instead, FIFA comes with this colonialist-style of imposition with a normalisation committee to essentially rob a new executive of a chance to sort out its own affairs and there are people here in support of this.

I will continue to tell William Wallace to listen to Robert Nestor Marley, "Get up stand up, stand up for your rights".

Finally someone using the right terminology in this... colonialism like I’ve been saying

Offline Bianconeri

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decent article.

though I'd think they should refrain from mentioning Jack as a source for any info.
He's just a stain on the association.

On the flip side.....i don't know why Keith Look Loy sees it necessary to continuously comment on FB about every article dropped and argue vociferiously each time

He may make some good points in between his rants and BS, but he needs some serious PR training.
He cannot be a spokesperson for any org. with that attitude unfortunately --
and i say unfortunate cause he does have a wealth of knowledge to share but it's how he's sharing it is the main issue and ppl ignore or cast him aside because of this

Offline asylumseeker

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decent article.

though I'd think they should refrain from mentioning Jack as a source for any info.
He's just a stain on the association.

On the flip side.....i don't know why Keith Look Loy sees it necessary to continuously comment on FB about every article dropped and argue vociferiously each time

He may make some good points in between his rants and BS, but he needs some serious PR training.
He cannot be a spokesperson for any org. with that attitude unfortunately --
and i say unfortunate cause he does have a wealth of knowledge to share but it's how he's sharing it is the main issue and ppl ignore or cast him aside because of this

What sort of battles do popularity contests win?

Offline Tallman

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Calls for Hadad to give directions
« Reply #402 on: May 14, 2020, 07:16:40 PM »
Calls for Hadad to give directions
By Walter Alibey (T&T Guardian)


The silence of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee Chairman Robert Hadad has become a major concern for some technical officials of the local football fraternity.

Almost six weeks into his tenure as chairman, both coaches and technical officials, who agreed to speak to Guardian Media Sports on the condition of anonymity on Thursday, are calling on Hadad to break his silence and outline what are his plans for local football both financially and from a technical standpoint.

“Mr Hadad held a zoom meeting for technical staff members on April 29 and at the end of it, we left in the say way we started. We don't know what is happening. Are we going to be paid, when will we be paid, will resume training in post-COVID-19, what is happening with the T&T Football Association accounts, what is happening with our national teams and the T&T Pro League, what about our plans for coming qualifiers and tournaments etc,” two coaches asked.

The coaches have also said disappointingly that there have also yet to hear a word from Hadad's deputy, attorney and Environmentalist Judy Daniel, and retired banker and businessman Nigel Romano, who is also a director and partner at More TT and the chairman at National Flour Mills.

The two got the nod to work alongside Hadad from the world governing body for football - FIFA on March 27, when it decided to appoint a normalization committee to manage the affairs of TT football, citing a real risk of insolvency and illiquidity, with no concrete plans of clearing a debt, alleged to be $50 million on March 17.

Two other members are supposed to be added to the committee, upon the appointment of the CONCACAF and the FIFA soon.

Hadad, the HADCO Group of Companies director, was baptized into local football administration with a battle through the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), between FIFA and the ousted administration that was led by William Wallace and his three vice president Clynt Taylor, Joseph 'Sam' Phillip and Susan Joseph-Warrick.

He also had to put his legal personnel on standby to secure ownership of the TTFA letterhead, while, at the same time, challenge Wallace for use of the football association bank accounts.

Hadad is expecting grant and COVID-19 Relief funds from the FIFA but has to wait until he can get used of the TTFA's First Citizens Bank accounts. In the latest saga for the account, the bank has called on both Hadad and Wallace to walk with a legal document showing they have the right to use the account.

The T&T Football Association is in line to receive US$1.2 million (an estimated TT$6.7million), plus a CONCACAF US$160,000 (an estimated TT$1,040,000) grant, as well as an unknown amount for the relief fund to the Normalisation Committee.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

Offline Bianconeri

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decent article.

though I'd think they should refrain from mentioning Jack as a source for any info.
He's just a stain on the association.

On the flip side.....i don't know why Keith Look Loy sees it necessary to continuously comment on FB about every article dropped and argue vociferiously each time

He may make some good points in between his rants and BS, but he needs some serious PR training.
He cannot be a spokesperson for any org. with that attitude unfortunately --
and i say unfortunate cause he does have a wealth of knowledge to share but it's how he's sharing it is the main issue and ppl ignore or cast him aside because of this

What sort of battles do popularity contests win?

I'm referring to conduct in office or high-ranking position which KLL holds

His manner which he handles situations isn't conducive for someone in that type of position

Yes the situation is difficult but you also want to motivate and push the team forward not be constantly divisive and vociferous in everything you do.
People are not gonna want to work with you or fear providing positive and related feedback
Basically "do as i say" not "do as i do" type of mentality and that's a baddddddddd way to go

I'm not against the new admin. nor KLL, but he really is his own worst enemy at times and refuses to change or take advice it seems sadly

Offline asylumseeker

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Calls for Hadad to give directions
By Walter Alibey (T&T Guardian)


The silence of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee Chairman Robert Hadad has become a major concern for some technical officials of the local football fraternity.
...


The Chairman is silent because  FIFA and CONCACAF have not arrived at definition or consolidation. The name of the game here is not speed or expedience.  The name of the game is practicability. There is a hierarchy of concerns, not merely one concern.

Allyuh better hope Hadad doh bolt de stable.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2020, 01:48:44 AM by asylumseeker »

Offline asylumseeker

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decent article.

though I'd think they should refrain from mentioning Jack as a source for any info.
He's just a stain on the association.

On the flip side.....i don't know why Keith Look Loy sees it necessary to continuously comment on FB about every article dropped and argue vociferiously each time

He may make some good points in between his rants and BS, but he needs some serious PR training.
He cannot be a spokesperson for any org. with that attitude unfortunately --
and i say unfortunate cause he does have a wealth of knowledge to share but it's how he's sharing it is the main issue and ppl ignore or cast him aside because of this

What sort of battles do popularity contests win?

I'm referring to conduct in office or high-ranking position which KLL holds

His manner which he handles situations isn't conducive for someone in that type of position

Yes the situation is difficult but you also want to motivate and push the team forward not be constantly divisive and vociferous in everything you do.
People are not gonna want to work with you or fear providing positive and related feedback
Basically "do as i say" not "do as i do" type of mentality and that's a baddddddddd way to go

I'm not against the new admin. nor KLL, but he really is his own worst enemy at times and refuses to change or take advice it seems sadly

I direct you to Yorke's observations of Keane, currently trending on the Yorke thread: 'Keano will live by the sword and die by the sword.'

Convictions are swords. Whether the policy is one of scorching the earth or one of speaking truth to power or one of speaking truth to ignoramuses, convictions are swords and their bearers tend to sleep well, tend to be comfortable bearing them and comfortable looking in the mirror.

What's the solution, sharpen the sword or dull the blade?
« Last Edit: May 15, 2020, 02:20:43 AM by asylumseeker »

Offline asylumseeker

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Jack was quite good and pointed in the Andre interview on sports talk on tten.
Don’t know if Anyone has a link.

Would love to hear that!

Offline maxg

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Jack was quite good and pointed in the Andre interview on sports talk on tten.
Don’t know if Anyone has a link.

Would love to hear that!
Jack was hitting DJW some virtual lash, and Andre didn't step up to deflect the blows. Andre tried to change subject by referring to JAW own problems. Jack say, he ain't thief, money pass, and money still passing , or something to that effect. He said he believe in the Wallace admin and also commented on the ghost of the CFU. It was sometimes quite funny. Jack want to know how come the President of Concacaf receiving million dollar salary, and is outside the Caribbean region, when Caribbean has 27 votes of 41. "Never in my time". Jack say as salary as VP fifa  (or maybe wa spres. of concacaf) he didn't even get 2 kaiser balls.
Add: I think Jack commented on everything current, except the tainted wildmeat. Tman, seeker y’all can’t get from the network?
https://www.facebook.com/ttenmedia/videos/267107451336452/
« Last Edit: May 16, 2020, 12:48:44 PM by maxg »

Offline Flex

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‘A set up!’ TTFA accuses CAS of helping Fifa financially bully Wallace, mulls its options
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).


The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) opened the possibility of a withdrawal of its case from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) today in a move that could have seismic repercussions for its battle with Fifa.

In a legal missive by the TTFA today, the local football body accused CAS of ‘an unacceptable display of apparent institutional bias’ towards Fifa, which has forced a rethink of whether the Switzerland-based body offers a suitable forum for impartial justice.

Notably, president William Wallace said the TTFA is not considering quitting its fight altogether but simply mulling over the right venue for its battle. The local football body is represented by attorneys Matthew Gayle and Dr Emir Crowne.

“Having gone down a road and clearly seeing the obstacles that present themselves down that particular road,” Wallace told Wired868. “[…] It does not seem to make sense [to continue]. Our lawyers are experienced and they have been down this road before and they are seeing a different response from CAS than what they have witnessed before.

“So they have advised us and we are going with their advice. It is unfortunate [but] the direction we were pointed in, we feel we are basically being set up.”

The TTFA had appealed a ruling by the Bureau of the Fifa Council to implement a normalisation committee in Trinidad and Tobago on 17 March 2020. The Bureau, which is headed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, claimed its decision was due to the TTFA’s ‘extremely low overall financial management methods, combined with a massive debt’ which put it in ‘a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity’.

Wallace was elected TTFA president on 24 November 2019 and the vast majority of the debt and financial management methods identified by Fifa were inherited from his predecessor, David John-Williams.

Ironically, John-Williams holds a Fifa position at present—he is a Fifa Players’ Status Committee member—and, rather than castigate him for the TTFA’s financially precarious position, Infantino publicly declared him a ‘teammate’, just six days before the local football body’s election.

Wallace claimed that Fifa’s decision to remove him from the helm of the TTFA was done as revenge for his electoral success over ‘DJW’ and to potentially stave off an investigation into the controversial TTFA Home of Football project, which was constructed under John-Williams’ supervision and received at least US$2.5 million (TT$17 million) in funding from Fifa.

CAS may no longer be the appropriate forum for that dispute. Like Fifa, the global sport arbitration body is also based in Switzerland. The former is headquartered in Zurich while the latter has its office in Lausanne.

The TTFA’s attorneys suggested that the relationship between the two bodies may not end with shared geographic borders. Wallace said CAS appeared to be helping Fifa exploit its financial advantage over the local football body.

“We believe that they know we have set up a ‘go fund me’ account and we are strapped for cash,” said Wallace, “so they are using different means to frustrate us to pull out of the process. Based on what we have seen, we have started to question the independence of CAS.”

Gayle spelt out their concerns in a letter to CAS today, which accused the body of not only driving up its legal costs but unfairly saddling the TTFA with them.

CAS asked the cash-strapped TTFA to pay CHF 40,000 (TT$277,000) by 20 May 2020, which was the entire cost for arbitration, while Fifa, a billion dollar enterprise, was not required to spend a cent until after the matter is heard—although the latter organisation tripled the cost of the proceedings by requesting three arbiters instead of one.

“The default rule in any fair and balanced arbitral proceedings is that the appellants and the respondents each pay 50% of the advance costs,” stated Gayle. “We note, with concern, that [Fifa] did not give any indication as to its position on the advance costs, but instead it was the purportedly independent tribunal administrators who took it upon itself to inform the [TTFA] that ‘as a general rule, Fifa does not pay any arbitration costs in advance’.

“The CAS then proceeds to inform the [TTFA]—again, without any indication from [Fifa] that they would not indeed advance their share of the exorbitant arbitration costs—that ‘the [TTFA] has to pay the entirety of the advance of costs’.

“This is made all the more alarming since the same purportedly independent tribunal had accepted without question the submission of [Fifa] to have the matter heard by three arbitrators, therein tripling the costs.

“On its face, therefore, the CAS appears to be a willing participant in [Fifa’s] gamesmanship, especially if the CAS had institutional knowledge that [Fifa]—an entity with immeasurable financial resources—would not be advancing their share of the arbitration costs… This is at least an unacceptable display of apparent institutional bias.”

Gayle noted too that, although travel restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic means the entire matter will be heard via video conferencing, CAS did not offer a discount on its fees—despite, presumably, not having to foot the cost of airfare and accommodation for its judges.

CAS generally charges between CHF 8,000 and 15,000 (TT$55,500 and $104,000) per arbiter.

“No breakdown of this exorbitant fee was provided, particularly since the hearing would have likely taken place by videoconference,” stated the TTFA’s attorney, “and the usual travel costs of the panel and the CAS’ counsel would have been eliminated.

“Instead, the fee seems to have been unaffected. To that end, we are genuinely unsure how the CAS facilitates access to justice with such extravagant fees. The [TTFA is] not from the developed world, nor are they as well-financed as [Fifa].”

On 6 April, the TTFA paid CHF 1,000 (TT$6,900) to register their case with CAS. Fifa was then presumed to have 20 days to file their response.

Instead, the Infantino-led body, which would have received the TTFA’s submission, said it would only lodge its response after Wallace paid arbitration fees for both parties. Gayle suggested that Fifa was being allowed to set its own deadlines.

“[Fifa] also issued a letter to the CAS indicating that their deadline to file their answer must therefore be suspended until the [TTFA] settles the entirety of the exorbitant arbitration fees,” stated Gayle. “Though the plain reading of the rule under which [Fifa] applied for this extension of their deadline would appear to presume the [Fifa] would be paying their 50% of the advance costs, the CAS once again ruled that [Fifa] would be able to benefit from this extension.

“To compound the perception of institutional bias, the letter from the CAS informing the [TTFA] of CAS’ ruling, is the very same correspondence which informed the TTFA that [Fifa] had made the request, meaning that the CAS had ruled without even giving the [TTFA] the opportunity to be heard.”

Wallace said he will meet with TTFA vice-presidents, Clynt Taylor, Susan Joseph-Warrick and Sam Phillip, and their legal team to decide what happens next.

“We are considering our next option, we have not decided yet,” said Wallace. “The group will meet, discuss and decide what our next move is.”

Fifa’s refusal to recognise Wallace coupled with an inability to legally install its proposed normalisation committee of Robert Hadad, Judy Daniel and Nigel Romano has created gridlock and instability within the local game.

The world governing body does not offer an internal mechanism to appeal a decision by the Bureau of the Fifa Council.

However, Fifa is due to hold its annual Congress this September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and all 210 members should be in attendance. In theory, Wallace’s best chance of forcing a climbdown from Infantino may be to convince Fifa member associations to support the tiny twin island republic—a feat he failed to pull off within the Caribbean.

But it would be extremely difficult for the besieged administrator to get an invitation to the Congress, since Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura was clear that Hadad was considered the TTFA’s current boss.

Otherwise, the TTFA’s only source of redress outside of the courts may be the local courts, which comes with certain risks attached.

Although Wallace can only be legally removed through a vote by three quarter of the TTFA’s 47 delegates, Fifa has the power to suspend the local football body and block its participation in international competitions.

Wallace declined comment on a possible Fifa ban for the TTFA—or even individual members—until after further talks with his colleagues and attorneys. He disagreed that a withdrawal from the CAS hearing could give Fifa the upper hand.

“There is no advantage until we decide what our next step is,” said Wallace. “If from where FIFA sits they really think [the implementation of a normalisation committee] was justifiable, I don’t think they would have had an issue pursuing it.

“I think it is because they cannot totally justify their actions that this has happened.”

For his part, Gayle made it clear that the TTFA was unhappy with the treatment meted out by CAS so far.

“To sum up, [Fifa] and the CAS caused the arbitration fees to triple,” Gayle told CAS. “The arbitration fees themselves are excessive per se, especially since the proceedings were likely to take place by videoconferencing due to the CAS’ Emergency Guidelines.

“The CAS then took it upon itself to indicate that [Fifa] would not be paying their share of those excessive fees, and placed the entire financial burden on the TTFA—all of whom are domiciled in a developing country.

“After that unilateral act by the CAS, [Fifa] then sought to have their deadline to file their answer [to the TTFA’s legal submission] suspended. In effect, [Fifa] secured an automatic extension and apparently knew that it would indeed succeed in this regard.

“To be clear, even if our clients applied to the CAS for legal aid, it would still not remedy the apparent institutional bias that has arisen. As it stands, there are very real doubts that the CAS remains an appropriate and fair forum for the resolution of this dispute.”

The TTFA’s accusation of bias towards Fifa comes just weeks after Switzerland attorney general Michael Lauber was fined eight percent of his salary and removed from investigations of corruption into football, due to revelations of a secret meeting with Infantino in 2017.

Lauber failed to properly declare the meeting with the Fifa president, who is an attorney by trade, and only acknowledged it after it was reported in the media.

Last month, Switzerland’s Federal Court rejected Lauber’s bid to rejoin investigations into Fifa and upheld a lower court ruling that the attorney general should ‘recuse himself from the federal prosecutors’ probe’.

TTFA technical committee chairman Keith Look Loy, who was a key mover behind the electoral campaign of Wallace’s ‘United TTFA’ slate, insisted that the fight is far from over.

“It must be understood that this letter to CAS is not a withdrawal of the Wallace case,” said Look Loy. “It merely expresses the TTFA executives’ legitimate concern at the behaviour of the court in its handling of this matter—a concern which I share. One could easily conclude that CAS is behaving almost as FIFA’s agent.

“Whether the case is withdrawn from CAS and another course of action is undertaken is now subject to discussion. All options remain available and will be examined.

“But anyone who believes the resistance to FIFA and its so called normalisation committee is ended is sorely mistaken.”

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Flex

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United TTFA dumps CAS to fight FIFA in T&T High Court.
By Walter Alibey (Guardian).


The ousted T&T Football Association (TTFA) team of William Wallace, Clynt Taylor, Joseph Sam Phillip, Susan Joseph-Warrick, Anthony Harford and Keith Look Loy has taken its fight against the FIFA, football's governing body, to the High Court of T&T.

The group lodged a brief on Monday, citing a combination of factors such as unfairness, a belief that they will not get a fair trial at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland, their will to upkeep the tenets of democracy in T&T, to a belief that the CAS was blatantly disregarding its own Statutes.

The FIFA statutes also spell out clearly that Member Associations cannot take it to its local court and could face a ban if this happens.

Upon the submission of their brief, the team also requested: "A Declaration that the purported decision of the Defendant dated March 17, 2020, purporting to remove the Claimant's duly elected executive is null, void and of no legal and/or binding effect; A permanent injunction preventing the Defendant from interfering in, and/or seeking to override the fair and transparent democratic processes of the Claimant and/or from attempting removing the Claimant's duly elected executive from office; A permanent injunction preventing the Defendant and/or its agents and/or assigns and/or servants from interfering in the day-to-day management of the Claimant, including the Claimant's bank accounts and real property; disobey unjust laws."

The group quoted extensively from the Constitution of T&T, saying: “We recognise that men and institutions remain free only when freedom is founded upon respect for moral and spiritual values and the rule of law. TTFA constitution places a duty of care on the elected officials of the association to protect the interests of its members." 

The group successfully contested the TTFA elections on November 24, 2019 and was replaced by a FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee after less than four months in office.

However, its attempt at justice through CAS encountered a major hurdle when CAS went against the mandatory process by asking the TTFA to cover the total cost for both parties.

The sport's governing body later refused to pay its part of arbitral proceedings ($20,000 Swiss Francs) when it was ordered by CAS. The group said it was after serious consideration that it decided to use the high court as its means of justice.

The group believes the real reason for FIFA unwarranted and illegal interference in TTFA's internal business is to cover up the financial mismanagement and illegal actions of the last administration, including the failure to provide contracts for the expenditure of TT$16 million on the "Home of Football" in Couva, the issuance of dozens of cheques against TTFA accounts that had insufficient funds (“bounced cheques”), and failure to pay to relevant statutory authorities the sum of  TT$4 million deducted from employees' salaries.

“The fact is that FIFA (in the person of Veron Mosengo-Omba, Chief of Member Associations) repeatedly ignored efforts by TTFA Board members to bring said financial issues to its attention," according to the brief.

RELATED NEWS

Wallace: We will prevail!
By Narissa Fraser & Joel Bailey (Newsday).


THE former executive body of the TT Football Association (TTFA) says its members do not believe they would get a "fair hearing" under the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and is now appealing to T&T's High Court for its ongoing battle against FIFA.

After only three months in office (March 17), the TTFA executive were removed by FIFA, the world's governing body of football, and replaced by a normalisation committee headed by businessman Robert Hadad. FIFA said this was done due to the TTFA's mounting financial debts.

Since then, the members have insisted they are still in charge of the TTFA's affairs.

In a media release on Monday, Wallace - embattled president of the association - said the financial state of the TTFA was assessed when he came into office and they discovered several issues. A report was then sent to FIFA highlighting those issues and explaining how his executive planned to deal with it.

"Ironically, our discovery is one of the two reasons FIFA used to remove us from office. Even more ironically, FIFA conducts an annual audit at the TTFA and would have done so for the previous four years and never discovered this issue or if it was discovered never demanded that it be fixed."

FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited T&T in November 2019 for the opening of the Home of Football in Balmain, Couva. At that time, the TTFA president was David John-Williams, under whose leadership, a massive portion of the association's debt was created.

Wallace said the "democratically elected TTFA officers" continue to reject FIFA's decision.

The sacked executive, through their lawyers Matthew Gayle and Dr Emir Crowne, recently issued an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but had noted its fees were quite hefty.

"In short order, it became clear that CAS was prepared to ignore its own regulations to facilitate FIFA in its handling of TTFA vs FIFA. Specifically, CAS directed the democratically elected TTFA officers to pay (TT $297,000) to cover the entire cost of the proceedings, when its regulations require the two parties to a matter to pay half each.

"It was only in response to the TTFA’s officers’ objection to this glaring denial of its own regulations that CAS called on FIFA to pay its half which FIFA has since refused to do."

Wallace said he doubts they would get a "fair hearing" under CAS, so "after long and hard deliberations," they decided to lodge a brief with the High Court of T&T.

They are requesting the following: A declaration that FIFA's decision to appoint a normalisation committee and to remove the elected members is null, void and of no legal and/or binding effect; a permanent injunction preventing the defendant from interfering or seeking to override the fair and transparent democratic processes of the claimant; a permanent injunction preventing the FIFA and its agents from interfering in the day-to-day management of the claimant, including bank accounts and real property.

Wallace said the real reason for FIFA's decision is to try to "cover up the financial mismanagement and illegal actions of the last administration, including the failure to provide contracts for the expenditure of $16 million on the Home of Football, the issuance of dozens of cheques against TTFA accounts that had insufficient funds and failure to pay to relevant statutory authorities the sum of $4 million deducted from employees’ salaries."

He added that over the years, FIFA has not shown interest in good governance or proper financial management.

"We are guided by the principles of Freedom and Democracy enshrined in the supreme and governing law of T&T – the constitution – under which TTFA is established. We shall prevail."

Newsday posed a question to Hadad, via Whatsapp, on Monday afternoon, asking if he think this move is proof that Wallace and his team are fighting a losing battle or if he is concerned that the High Court may lean towards the removed TTFA executive. Hadad did not respond to Newsday's query up to press time on Monday.

« Last Edit: May 19, 2020, 07:14:58 AM by Flex »
The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Trini _2026

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local courts not a good decision .....
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/sh8SeGmzai4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/sh8SeGmzai4</a>

Offline pull stones

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I only hope that they know what they’re doing, because though successful they could be inviting sanctions or even a ban by fifa. I could only hope that they have all their bases covered and are well counseled in this regard before going forward with this challenge against such a toxic dastardly organization.

Offline FF

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taking a ban might be the only way to get to the bottom of the corruption and mismanagement of the previous administration.

Otherwise everything will be swept under the rug and more of the same will prevail.

Look at it this way. We might as well have been banned the last five years because we have not one damn thing to show. Bet yuh players will still get to go India and Guatemala regardless and local football can continue with empty stadiums. A ban ent doing one shit that we ent do to weself.
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

Offline pull stones

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taking a ban might be the only way to get to the bottom of the corruption and mismanagement of the previous administration.

Otherwise everything will be swept under the rug and more of the same will prevail.

Look at it this way. We might as well have been banned the last five years because we have not one damn thing to show. Bet yuh players will still get to go India and Guatemala regardless and local football can continue with empty stadiums. A ban ent doing one shit that we ent do to weself.
but then if they are banned then they still get left in the dark, and they could forget about winning the next election because the stake holders would definitely view them as traitors to football. from my understanding of the situation is that they are dealing with the devil going this route with fifa, it’s a lose lose situation. fifa hands are way too long for these school boys to tussle with, I’m really surprised to see that Wallace have absolutely zero support, not from England , not from America , not from any federation anywhere.

Offline Deeks

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I’m really surprised to see that Wallace have absolutely zero support, not from England , not from America , not from any federation anywhere.

Honestly, Pull. You expect US and England to support TT. England will never support TT after what what Jack Warner did to damn. And FiFA gives the US a free pass on all infringements. Don't mind Chuck Blazer was is deep corhoots with Jack. US is one of their top cash cow. They eh stepping on the US toes. US will not support us because on any given day we could poison them, like we did in Corva.

Offline Flex

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Sancho, Williams, Corneal predict FIFA ban for TTFA.
By Walter Alibey (Guardian).


"What's the sense of fighting against FIFA when it leads to one outcome, a ban for the country's football from all competitions,” several of this country's top coaches have asked.

Should the country be banned, it would not be able to participate in any football, such as the Caribbean Football Union's (CFU) junior and senior competitions, CONCACAF junior and senior tournaments, World Cup Qualifiers both men and women, International Club football, etc.    

Their question sums up a sad irony in a battle of principle versus priority, that led to the T&T Football Association (TTFA), being led by former president William Wallace and his three vice presidents, taking their fight of having a FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee replace them as the managers of local football, to the T&T High Court on Monday afternoon, and thereby violating a FIFA Statute that Member Association cannot take its grievance to its local courts.

Former national players Brent Sancho, Alvin Corneal, Brian Williams spoke to Guardian Media Sports on Tuesday and they believe the country faces certain suspension, as was done to the Nigerian Football Federation for government interference in 2010; Cameroon in 2013 for government interference: Indonesia in 2015, while in Pakistan in 2018, the Pakistan Football Federation just missed out on a FIFA sanction for its attempts to use the Supreme Court to settle an election result, as is being attempted here in T&T.

On Monday, the TTFA group of Wallace, vice presidents Clynt Taylor, Sam Phillip, Susan Joseph-Warrick and supporters Keith Look Loy and Anthony Harford submitted a brief in the High Court in Port-of-Spain after it felt that their pursuit of justice for the FIFA removing them without merit, could not be achieved via the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland, following a series of events that their lawyers Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew Gayle claimed showed an apparent bias by CAS for the world governing body for football.  

In an immediate response, Sancho described the action of TTFA as the ultimate indictment on T&T football, asking what will Wallace and his team do if they win or if they do not win in the high court.

"This appears to be a moral stance for Wallace but certainly not for the country. What happens when our footballers cannot look forward to any qualifying competitions at CFU, CONCACAF and World Cup levels. Or what happens when our country cannot play in the World Cup Qualifiers, or even cannot play at the International Club level?" asked Sancho.

"Wallace must tell us if he intends to run football without the support of the FIFA, and otherwise. Also, what happens when our ban is up, will he (Wallace) attempt to have the FIFA statutes changed, or will he rejoin under the same regulations."

Williams, a Strike Squad defender back in 1989 believes Wallace and his team ought to have known what are the consequences of their action, saying it makes no sense to him, as the sport and many young footballers are set to suffer from it.

"I am all for football and the future of the young players. The ones making the decisions do not have careers ahead of them in football, and therefore, I do not think that fight is making any sense,” Williams said.

Corneal, who has represented T&T both as a player and coach, is also predicting a ban by FIFA and has called for more dialogue among the parties to take place. He believes the administrators of the sport in T&T have not even satisfied the people of T&T and therefore should give the normalisation committee a chance to fix the problem.

Meanwhile, an official who is close to the developments and who spoke to Guardian Media Sports on the condition on anonymity, believes that Wallace's team might also benefit should they win in the High court.

"It might be difficult for the FIFA to convince the court that it should appoint a normalisation committee and then ban the TTFA, when they have failed to follow their statutes by failing to pay its part in arbitral proceedings of the CAS, which is the court its statutes directs Members Associations to, in case of justice.

"Although I believe that T&T will be banned, the second thing is that Member Associations cannot be banned by the FIFA itself, but rather by Congress. And with a vote of no-confidence being called on president Gianni Infantino, the TTFA might be in for a fight."

On March 17, FIFA disbanded the TTFA's administration and appointed a normalisation committee on March 27 as it felt that TTFA faced a risk of insolvency and illiquidity.

However, on Monday, the ousted executive of the TTFA asked the court to recognise them as the duly elected and legitimate executive, as well as prevent FIFA from interfering in its operations.

However, article 65 Arbitration of the TTFA Constitution reads:

1 Disputes in the Association or disputes affecting Leagues, members of Leagues, Clubs, members of Clubs, Players, Officials and Officials of other Associations, shall not be submitted to Ordinary Courts, unless the FIFA regulations, this Constitution or binding legal provisions specifically provide for or stipulate recourse to Ordinary Courts.

2 Instead, such disputes as specified in par. 1 shall be taken to an independent Arbitration Tribunal created by TTFA. The Board of Directors shall issue special regulations regarding the composition, jurisdiction and procedural rules of this Arbitration Tribunal.

2 As long as such Arbitration Tribunal has not been duly installed by TTFA and recognised by the General Meeting, any dispute of national dimension may only be referred in the last instance to CAS.

Meanwhile, the team of six in their Court file on Monday stated that after long and hard deliberations, they decided to lodge a brief with the sovereign High Court of T&T, requesting:

1 A Declaration that the purported decision of the Defendant dated the 17th March 2020, purporting to remove the Claimant’s duly elected executive is null, void and of no legal and/or binding effect;

2 A permanent injunction preventing the Defendant from interfering in, and/or seeking to override the fair and transparent democratic processes of the Claimant and/or from attempting removing the Claimant’s duly elected executive from office;

3 A permanent injunction preventing the Defendant and/or its agents and/or assigns and/or servants from interfering in the day-to-day management of the Claimant, including the Claimant’s bank accounts and real property.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline asylumseeker

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Presumably The Guardian will be publishing in short order an alternate  viewpoint to that expressed above? If one asks an arsonist if she predicts a fire or fires in town and she says 'yes', is that prediction? It's not even self-fulfilling prophecy.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2020, 07:00:56 AM by asylumseeker »

Offline ABTrini

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Is the imminent " ban"  talked about by FIFA the only legitimate " hammer" they have ? Is this the only alternative they would seek to  put public pressure  on any opposition to their dictatorial measures?

In my humble opinion, after so many years of corruption and mishandling of FIFA's funds is it now that  they would think of dropping the hammer? What is the reason?  So that their stooges continue to run the TTFA unopposed? So that the puppets like BS  continue to seek some noteriety as a football executive?

Initially I was ready for this Normalization  committeee to come in , clean up the debts put the house in order and them let's move back to business.  However, I have not seen nor heard of one single solitary plan of action to rectify alleged  misgivings of the WW led executive by this so called normalization action?

I BS co tiniest to spew the threats of FIFA - if FIFA is  allowed to be the watchdog of  all football governances who is the watchdog of FIFA?
In the middle of this power play why should our footballers be subjected to punishment and suffer being barred from representing their country if their is a ban?

Has anyone ever heard of another organization that is willing to operate football among nations outside of FIFA?

The more this goes on the more I pledge my fight to WW and the TTFA

Offline asylumseeker

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FIFA has not used or referred to the word ("ban") at all.

Offline Tallman

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Guatemala and Nigeria lessons for T&T
« Reply #419 on: May 20, 2020, 12:04:10 PM »
Guatemala and Nigeria lessons for T&T
By Ian Prescott (T&T Express)


Countries serving recent FIFA suspensions for varying reasons include Guatemala twice, Nigerian, Kenya, Zambia, and Indonesia, Kuwait and Benin. The two cases closest to the Trinidad and Tobago situation appear to be those of Guatemala and Nigeria.

Guatemala missed two Concacaf Gold Cups and were banned from all FIFA competitions until being reinstated on May 31, 2018, when FIFA announced it had lifted the suspension imposed on the Federacion Nacional de Futbol de Guatemala (FEDEFUT).

On Oct 28, 2016, the Guatemalan football federation was suspended indefinitely by FIFA, which stated that FEDEFUT had rejected a normalisation committee’s mandate to run its business, organise elections, and modernise its statutes, and would be barred from international competition. The suspension was only lifted after FEDEFUT’s normalisation committee became fully operational.

During an almost two-year ban, Guatemala national teams and clubs were barred from participating in international competitions. FEDEFUT also received no funding from both FIFA and Concacaf for its national and development programmes. Guatemala missed out on qualifying for the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup tournaments; and the 2017 Copa Centroamericana.

Guatemala also missed out on the qualifying round for the 2019–20 Concacaf Nations League qualifying.

When their ban was eventually lifted, Guatemala were installed in the bottom rung (League C) of the actual Nations League competition and now have to work their way back up to the top league (League A). It was the second time Guatemala were banned by FIFA, the first time being in 2003.

Meanwhile, FIFA allowed a Nigerian dispute to be decided by the Nigerian High Court before banning the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) president Chris Giwa for life and also threatened an immediate ban on the Nigerian federation if it abided by a local court verdict.

In August 2018, lawyer Azdzard Habilla said FIFA could not ban Nigeria from football activities after his client Giwa went to court and won control of the NFF in July 2018. Giwa insisted that he was elected president in a disputed vote back in August 2014. However, FIFA recognised the victory of Amaju Pinnick. Acting on a Nigerian court ruling establishing Giwa as NFF president, Nigerian Sport Minister Solomon Dalung ordered Pinnick and his board to comply with the court and leave the NFF.

For going to a local court, Giwa was issued a worldwide FIFA ban from all football activities. FIFA also issued a statement giving Nigeria until Monday, August 20 to return the BFF offices to Pinnick or the NFF would be suspended with immediate effect. Faced with a FIFA ban, Nigeria rejected Giwa’s claim to leadership and reinstated Pinnick.

It was not the first time that Nigeria had faced a FIFA ban over government interference. FIFA also suspended the country when a Nigerian high court ordered the NFF to hand over the reins of the national team to a government civil servant, after the country’s exit from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Meanwhile, Indonesia were banned on June 5, 2014 after the sports ministry and football association failed to resolve a dispute over who ran the game in the country.

In May 2016, FIFA lifted Indonesia’s ban from international competitions but confirmed the suspensions of Kuwait and Benin over government interference in the sport. The suspension ruled Indonesia’s national team out of the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualifying campaigns.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

 

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