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Post by Admin on Apr 13, 2020 22:01:21 GMT
Yorke: FIFA made the right move www.guardian.co.tt/sports/yorke-fifa-made-the-right-move-6.2.1097029.8d9b156cd6T&T’s most famous footballer, based on his international record and appeal, Dwight Yorke, gave a rare interview to host Andre Errol Baptiste on Isports on i95.5fm Programme on Saturday. The former Manchester United and T&T’s football captain at this country’s only World Cup appearance in 2006 (Germany), is currently in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has been paying close attention to all that has been unfolding in local football including when FIFA announced on March 17 that it was appointing a normalization committee to run the affairs of T&T’s football, effectively replacing elected president William Wallace and his three vice presidents. On March 27, FIFA named businessman Robert Hadad as chairman, attorney Judy Daniel as vice-chairman and retired banker Nigel Romano, as a member, with two more individuals to be appointed at a later date, to replace the ousted T&T Football Association (TTFA) executive, that was duly elected in November 2019 with William Wallace as president and including Joseph "Sam" Phillip, Susan Joseph-Warwick and Clynt Taylor as vice-presidents, who through their attorneys have lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland on April 7. "When it comes to football, things have to change. We have tried all aspects of it before. We know how successful we have been in 2006. I think football has been in decline for a number of years," said Yorke during the interview. "I think this is the right move and we all have to get back and focus and maybe think about the youth." Yorke's support comes on the back of previous support for FIFA's action by the T&T Pro League, the Central Zone president Shymdeo Gosine and several local coaches and administrators of the local sport. "The youths are the future of the football and I call on all the footballers out there who are aspiring to represent their country to continue to work hard because it is the only way forward and they must have that belief and hopefully, our country will one day find its way back on the world stage again,” said Yorke, re-emphasizing his desire to be involved in T&T’s football. "I have always been (interested), I have never shied away from that I have always wanted to play an intricate part in whatever way it's possible. I can help the young people of T&T as I have said before. I have a lot of knowledge and experience over the years and I feel that I can contribute a lot to T&T’s football hopefully." Yorke, a former national captain admits that he too is feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Dubai, which has also locked down all citizens and visitors alike to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus in that country. "It's been challenging like for everyone else out there. I'm lucky enough I'm based in Dubai at the moment so we been on lockdown for roughly three weeks and they're strict so we are one of the lowest in terms of the effect of the virus at the moment. I'm blessed that I'm in such a strict place that tries to keep this pandemic that is happening around the world under control. "I know that we are a country that likes to enjoy ourselves, we like to be sociable with one another interacting that way and nothing is wrong with it but I'm calling on all my fellow Trinidadians and Tobagonians to make sure that they take care of themselves and follow the guidelines that are required. It's well publicised and the PM has put out his statement, to stay at home, social distance, wash your hands. "I know the face mask is not something that has been broadcasted but if you look at the news now the face mask is probably the most important thing and I know its difficult to get hold of the face mask but when you go out, make sure to wear the face mask. It does save lives and that's what's matters most so its important that my people back home take this very very serious and make sure and have consideration for others not just for themselves but for the elders for the weak,” said Yorke, who scored 66 goals for Manchester United. He admits that he has not reflected much on his career but knows that he has done well in terms of his playing career. " I can vaguely remember some of the goals that I've scored but, having said that, I think my first year was just incredible. The way how it panned out and how it worked out. You know scoring 29 goals that particular season and doing everything else winning the 'Play of the Year', you couldn't ask for a better year. "I feel that within that year I had some of my best goals, the important goals for United and even though it wasn’t a classic, the first time I played Liverpool at home in the FA Cup that was the one that really stood out. It's not a classic goal by any means but I saw the passion and the rivalry between Man United and Liverpool for the years, what it meant to the fans and to have scored that equalizer. You could feel the whole roof lift off that day when we equalized and obviously went on to win that game like in the dying minute of the game. "That was the first time I really felt something unusual playing in the derby and feel what that meant and of course once we won that game. We went on to win the FA cup and went onto to win the title that particular year, so 66 goals, I mean that's pretty good and I'm sure that all of them played an important part at some point in those games,” said Yorke. Tagged in:
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Post by Admin on Apr 14, 2020 21:07:23 GMT
The fact that Dwight could not even properly substantiate his opinion is sad.
VB
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Post by Admin on Apr 14, 2020 21:11:16 GMT
Wallace's team picks Hovell for FIFA dispute
Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew GW Gayle, the lawyers representing the ousted executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), have proposed that Mark Hovell the highly experienced sports lawyer from Manchester, England, be the sole arbitrator in their case against football’s world governing body FIFA.
Hovell is a highly experienced sports lawyer and insolvency practitioner who specialises in regulatory, governance, commercial and financial matters, across all sports, both in the UK and across the world.
Additionally, he sits regularly as an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland and The FA’s regulatory commissions.
FIFA has until April 14 to submit their comments regarding the request – whether they agree to a sole arbitrator deciding matters and Hovell’s appointment.
CAS appeals cost about $20,000 with the appellant’s legal costs generally doubling that amount. The filed appeal by former president Wallace and his three vice presidents Clynt Taylor, Joseph 'Sam' Phillip and Susan Joseph-Warrick, requests a sole arbitrator that, depending on the case, would reduce fees to $10,000 and expedite the process. Currently, the appellants have paid the first CHF 1,000 to file the appeal, quite where they will get the rest required to proceed is unclear.
In a video statement on Wednesday on their crowdsourcing ‘gofundme’ page, Wallace maintains that he is still in charge of the TTFA, saying: “To be clear I remain president of TTFA based on our constitution… I can only be removed by the operation of the TTFA’s constitution, not by FIFA.”
However, Wallace and his team have raised part of the money fund via the fundraising page showed no movement from Wednesday's total contribution which was at $3,155 up to press time and it was at the same amount up to press time again yesterday. The last contribution of US$50 was made on Monday. The target by Wallace's team is TT$300,000 to $500,000 or the estimated US$25,000 for the CAS appeal.
One of those that have donated is Keith Look Loy, the TTFA’s former technical committee chair under the Wallace administration, who paid in $200. Look Loy is the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Super League, who has said that the league’s clubs have agreed on a donation of $2,000.
A supporter Elvin Edwards has made the single biggest contribution of US$1,000 with Wallace contributing teh second largest amount of US$500.
On March 17, FIFA wrote to the TTFA advising them that they were appointing a normalisation committee to take over the running of the heavily indebted association. However, despite protests from the executive because such a move would be in breach of the TTFA constitution, FIFA proceeded to name members of the committee on March 26.
The action prompted the attorneys to file an appeal to set aside FIFA’s decision before the CAS on Monday, April 6.
On Wednesday, CAS acknowledged receipt of the appeal and issued a case number CAS2020/A/6915.
Wallace and his team also pointed to the Court that: Due to the implications of this matter, and the importance of football to Trinidad and Tobago (and the wider Caribbean region generally), the Appellants request a hearing of this appeal on an expedited basis.
a. To the extent that the CAS’ Emergency Guidelines are not extended and to the extent that the ban on international flights entering Trinidad and Tobago is lifted on/by June 1, 2020, the Appellants ask that the matter be heard in-person in Trinidad & Tobago at the earliest point thereafter. Indeed, as the Appellants and most (if not all) of the relevant witnesses, all reside within Trinidad & Tobago, the balance of convenience tips in favour of that location in our respectful view.
b. In the alternative, and if the CAS’ Emergency Guidelines and the current ban on flights entering Trinidad & Tobago are both extended beyond June 1st, 2020, the Appellants respectfully request that the matter be heard by video-conferencing means.
c. Nonetheless, whether through video-conferencing or in-person, the Appellants ask that the hearing be open to the public.
The lawyers now have until April 17, 10 days from when the appeal was due to be filed, which was Tuesday, April 7. Should they fail to do so. CAS will deem the appeal withdrawn.
FIFA then has 20 days to respond to the filed brief. They would be expected to do so by early May.
CAS has also invited the TTFA lawyers to consider the possibility of mediation.
According to a Sportsmax Antonio De Quesada, Head of Arbitration at CAS stated: “I take this opportunity to draw the Parties’ attention to the possibility of submitting this dispute to CAS mediation, which would not prejudice the Parties’ rights to subsequently re-submit the dispute to arbitration, should the dispute remain unresolved at the conclusion of the mediation procedure. A successful mediation procedure would result in a binding settlement, the terms of which have been agreed upon by both Parties.”
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Post by Admin on Apr 17, 2020 17:45:30 GMT
guardian.co.tt/sports/the-ttfa-vs-fifa-fiasco-6.2.1098748.5424fb0c01Dear Sports Editor The recent FIFA take-over of Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) is a stew of the history of Trinidad and Tobago's mismanagement of finances, FIFA politics and a lack of solidarity among CFU (Caribbean Football Union) members. However, with objective scrutiny, one can clearly discern that the dominant ingredient in this cook-up is blatant FIFA politics, and for this reason, I believe that Trinidad and Tobago could present a very strong and winnable case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) when the matter is called. For those who say Trinidad and Tobago's challenge to the 'all-powerful' FIFA is futile, they adopt a defeatist attitude, which sends the wrong message to FIFA and eventually signals an abdication of the ability to control our destiny in the Caribbean; in fact, we will see the converse, whereby our destiny will be at the whim of the world body. The situation has far-reaching implications and must be viewed from a holistic Caribbean football perspective. FIFA disbanded the four-month-old, democratically elected executive led by President William Wallace and replaced it with a Normalization Committee on March 27, after giving notice on March 17, charging that the new executive had no proper procedures in place for its claimed TT$50 million debt relief plan, a debt inherited by the Wallace group from the previous administration, led by the former president, David John-Williams. FIFA, also was not in favour of an attempt by the William Wallace group to partner the UK-based firm, Lavender Consultants Ltd., in the development of a sports complex in Arima as part of the Executive's debt relief plan (The TTFA, instead of pursuing the Arima project, should have focused on getting the Home of Football up and running because it was a huge FIFA investment). Also, the elected executive's failure to resolve what FIFA and CONCACAF viewed as a conflict of interest because of dual roles among members of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Referees Association (TTFRA) and its own Referees Committee was another issue of contention. This referees' situation existed several years before the William Wallace Executive took office; it was addressed by CONCACAF officials under the David John-Williams administration and was given a deadline of December 31st, 2019, to be resolved by a revision to the TTFA constitution to comply with FIFA statutes. A juxtaposition of the aforementioned FIFA charges against the William Wallace Executive, democratically elected on November 24, 2019, and the calamity created by the previous David John-Williams Executive reveals the making of a solid case for the Wallace Executive group. Here goes: The David John-Williams Executive created, among its maladies, four years of alleged financial mismanagement of FIFA Funds, particularly in the development of the unfinished and inoperable Home of Football. The Home of Football project, supposedly the signature accomplishment of the John-Williams administration, led to a court order for transparency that revealed the shortcomings of the John-Williams Executive, which were documented and reported to FIFA but from all indication appeared to have been ignored. According to former TTFA general secretary, Ramesh Ramdhan speaking to the media in a publication on March 21, “These shortcomings were repeatedly ignored by Mosengo-Omba (a FIFA official charged with overseeing the project) whose stock response was that this was an 'internal TTFA matter that FIFA would not intervene'….” Further, it was reported in the print media that the Home of Football did not meet the local Fire Department's requirements and deemed not for use. Additionally, the illegal dismissal of several contracted coaches, including former technical director, Kendall Walkes, and others still owed monies resulted in court-ordered frozen accounts to secure millions of dollars in payments to Walkes (The situation compounded the problems for the new Wallace administration, as it set about executing the daily operations of the TTFA). Lastly, FIFA's appointment of the financial manager, Tyril Patrick - the only hold-over by William Wallace team from the previous administration - to head the Normalization Committee is further evidence of FIFA politics at play. Patrick subsequently refused the post. Eventually, the David John-Williams four-year tenure resulted in poor performances by all Trinidad and Tobago national teams; there was a clear deterioration of the standard of football in the country; and subsequently, football in Trinidad and Tobago was left with an inoperable Home of Football and an AGM approved TT$32.4 million debt on Nov. 24th that later was alleged to be TT$50 million by William Wallace's administration. FIFA charged the democratically-elected William Wallace Executive, based on the aforementioned, with violating of articles 8.2 of its Statutes, which states in part, “Executive bodies of member associations may under exceptional circumstances be removed from office…..” However, an objective view of the situation indicates that the David John-Williams administration is the group guilty of creating “exceptional circumstances…” I believe CAS will rule in favour of the William Wallace group. The court result notwithstanding, what is very important here is the democratically-elected William Wallace Executive's refusal to capitulate to FIFA. FIFA should have acted in good faith and should have instructed the Normalisation Committee to work with the democratically elected William Wallace administration to revive football in Trinidad and Tobago. Patrick Horne is a New York-based sports administrator, football coach and author of Black Pioneers of the North American Soccer League (1968-84). Tagged in:
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Post by Admin on Apr 17, 2020 18:00:15 GMT
Williams team faces CAS deadline vs FIFA today guardian.co.tt/sports/williams-team-faces-cas-deadline-vs-fifa-today-6.2.1099545.c658241855The four dismissed elected officers of the T&T Football Association (TTFA) now face a major financial challenge after FIFA, the world governing body for the sport rejected their claim to have a sole arbitrator sit in judgement of their challenge of being removed from office by FIFA. The former TTFA president William Wallace and his three vice president Clynt Taylor, Joseph 'Sam' Phillip and Susan Joseph-Warrick, requests a sole arbitrator that, depending on the case, would reduce fees to $10,000 and expedite the process. Currently, the appellants have paid the first CHF 1,000 to file the appeal, but FIFA responded by Tuesday's deadline and requested that it wanted three arbitrators to adjudicate on the matters raised. Replying to Antonio De Quesada, the Head of Arbitration at CAS on Tuesday, FIFA made their position on the proposal quite clear. The letter said, in part: “We inform you that we do not agree with the Appellant’s proposal to appoint a sole arbitrator in the matter at hand. Indeed, the present dispute concerns an exceptional situation that has led FIFA to take important governance-related measures in one of its members in accordance with the FIFA Statutes.” As such, FIFA said they favoured a three-member panel to hear the dispute. It will now fall to the President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division or her deputy to decide how many arbitrators will hear the dispute after both parties have filed their briefs. However, until that decision is made, the former TTFA officers through their attorneys Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew GW Gayle, have until Friday to move to the next phase of the process which is to file an appellate brief, a more comprehensive and detailed document containing all the legal arguments as to why the United TTFA officers should win the case. Gayle told Guardian Media Sports on Thursday that: "We are focus on putting together a cogent and compelling appeal brief until that deadline is met." The brief is expected to contain details of the case, outlining who are the witnesses, experts and other informative details. The matter is registered as CAS2020/A/6915. FIFA will then need to reply by Monday (April 20) by producing its arguments in full details after which CAS will examine both sides briefs before determining a time for the matter to commence at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. CAS appeals cost about $20,000 with the appellant’s legal costs generally doubling that amount. In a video statement on April 1, on their crowdsourcing ‘gofundme’ page, Wallace maintains that he is still in charge of the TTFA, saying: “To be clear I remain president of TTFA based on our constitution… I can only be removed by the operation of the TTFA’s constitution, not by FIFA.” However, Wallace and his team have raised part of the money fund via the fundraising page showed no movement from April 1 total contribution was at $3,155 and up to press time on Thursday (April 16) it stood at $3,205 with the latest donation of $50 made on April 11. The target by Wallace's team is TT$300,000 to $500,000 or the estimated US$25,000 for the CAS appeal. One of those that have donated is Keith Look Loy, the TTFA’s former technical committee chair under the Wallace administration, who paid in $200. Look Loy is the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Super League, who has said that the league’s clubs have agreed on a donation of $2,000. A supporter Elvin Edwards has made the single biggest contribution of US$1,000 with Wallace contributing the second-largest amount of US$500. On March 17, FIFA wrote to the TTFA advising them that they were appointing a normalisation committee to take over the running of the heavily indebted association. However, despite protests from the executive because such a move would be in breach of the TTFA constitution, FIFA proceeded to name members of the committee on March 26. In FIFA's General Secretary General Fatma Samoura letter to TTFA General Secretary Ramesh Ramdhan, pointed to article 8 paragraph 2 of the Fifa Statutes’ as it outlined FIFA's concerns about the financial status of the TTFA. FIFA said its fact-finding mission (February 25-27) found, among other concerns, that the “overall condition of financial management and financial governance extremely low or non-existent at the TTFA. “There are currently no formal internal policies and internal controls in place, such as procurement, the delegation of financial authorities, financial planning and budgeting, effective oversight of funding and management reporting, which are necessary to meet the TTFA’s objectives.” FIFA also said there is a lack of documented policies and procedures, financial planning and management of statutory liabilities adding that there's no short or long-term plan to address the “urgent” situation. FIFA also pointed out that current debt is USD$5.5m (TT$37.4 million), the TTFA “faces a very real risk of both insolvency and illiquidity if corrective measures are not applied urgently.” As such, the normalisation committee has been mandated to run the daily affairs of the TTFA, establish a debt repayment plan that is implementable by the TTFA, as well as review and amend the TTFA statutes and ensure their compliance with FIFA statutes and requires before submitting them to the TTFA Congress for approval. The committee will also organize and conduct elections of a new TTFA executive for a four-year term. The Normalization Committee was appointed on March 27, with businessman Robert Hadad, attorney Judy Daniel and retired banker Nigel Romano with two other members to be named. Wallace and his three vice presidents were elected on November 24, 2019, to a four-year term of office.
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Post by Admin on Apr 19, 2020 19:39:25 GMT
Orville Higgins | What’s Happening In T&T’s Football?Published:Saturday | March 28, 2020 | 12:00 AM FIFA President Gianni Infantino. jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20200328/orville-higgins-whats-happening-tts-footballI am following the events in Trinidad and Tobago’s football closely. While no sports is currently going on, the looming battle between the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and the game’s governing body,, FIFA, is heading for a showdown that could be as interesting as any on field battle between two quality teams. FIFA has sent in what they are calling a normalisation committee, to take over the running of football in the Twin Island Republic. On the face of it, the move looks strange, if not outright shocking. William Wallace is barely four months in charge of the association, having beaten David John-Williams late last year. FIFA claims to be concerned about financial instability and the lack of proper governance within the TTFA, and has moved in, with what appears to be indecent haste, to take over the organisation. As I have been told by people close to the happenings in Trinidad, the previous administration had left the TTFA in significant debt. The obvious question is, why would FIFA not have taken over when the last administration was in charge? Surely the present administration should not have been the ones to be embarrassed like this when, clearly, the majority of that debt would not have happened under their watch. What makes this story even more fascinating is that I have been told by too many Trinidadians to ignore it completely, that the ousted David John-Williams was receiving support from at least one top FIFA official in the lead-up to the election last year. WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF THIS? Is mismanagement and poor fiscal habits the real reason why FIFA has taken over, or are they flexing their muscles because they are not happy with who won the elections last November? FIFA has no issue with the elections itself which they were there to observe. Mr Wallace must, therefore, be seen as legally and duly elected to serve as president. Turfing him out of office within four months seems to be rather draconian to me. FIFA had originally asked a man called Tyril Patrick to help steer the normalisation committee. Where the plot thickens is when one realises that Mr Patrick was associated with the administration that lost the election, and would, therefore, be associated with an administration that would have helped to create the massive problems that FIFA is now supposed to be fixing. The good thing is that Mr Wallace is not taking it sitting down. He is prepared to take the big, bad FIFA all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sports. If the facts are as they are reported to be, then I cannot see how FIFA can get away with this. If the TTFA loses this case, then FIFA is basically given the right, carte blanche, to just take over any association anytime, and put in their own people. The rest of the national associations around the world are watching this one with keen interest, and, for that matter, so am I.
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Post by Admin on Apr 19, 2020 19:46:30 GMT
FIFA rejects proposal to have single arbitrator in TTFA dispute guyanachronicle.com/2020/04/17/fifa-rejects-proposal-to-have-single-arbitrator-in-ttfa-disputePORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – A proposal that a single arbitrator be appointed to hear the dispute between FIFA and the ejected executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has been rejected by football’s world governing body.The proposal had been made by attorneys representing the TTFA in its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reverse FIFA’s decision last month to appoint a normalization committee to oversee the association’s operations. The lawyers had identified British sports lawyer Mark Hovell, who has been an arbitrator at the CAS, as the man for the job. But according to a report on Sportsmax, on the April 14 deadline to submit a response to that request, FIFA wrote to the Head of Arbitration at CAS, Antonio De Quesada, saying it preferred to have a three-member panel hearing the matter. “We do not agree with the Appellant’s proposal to appoint a sole arbitrator in the matter at hand. Indeed, the present dispute concerns an exceptional situation that has led FIFA to take important governance-related measures in one of its members in accordance with the FIFA Statutes,” FIFA said in its correspondence. The President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division Corinne Schmidhauser or her deputy will make the final decision on how many arbitrators will hear the dispute. The lawyers were expected to file their appeals brief by yesterday. Three weeks ago, FIFA announced it was replacing the TTFA with a normalization committee, after a joint assessment of the association, carried out by itself and CONCACAF, found “extremely low overall financial management methods, combined with a massive debt”, which left the local body “facing a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity”. The committee will have up to two years to carry out its work, including creating a debt repayment plan which the TTFA can implement, reviewing the local governing body’s statutes and ensuring their adherence to FIFA regulations, and overseeing new elections. The appointment of the normalisation committee was criticised by TTFA president William Wallace who said the decision was unconstitutional and took his challenge to the CAS.
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Post by Admin on Apr 21, 2020 6:26:49 GMT
Wallace’s lawyers send bank warning
Lawyers representing William Wallace and the sidelined executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) have threatened legal action against First Citizens Bank should they find that the bank has changed signatories to the accounts of the Association without the required authorisation.... Wallace and his executive are currently challenging FIFA’s setting up of a normalisation committee at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. According to a report on the Sports Max website, Wallace’s lawyers wrote to First Citizens in a letter dated April 17, 2020 stating in part: “Since the elections held in November 2019, following which Mr William Wallace was duly elected president of the TTFA and subsequent thereto added as a signatory to the accounts, there has been no further change. “Any attempts to change the signatories on the account which may have already been made in March or April 2020 or attempts which may be made hereafter without the express approval of Mr William Wallace and/or the duly elected executives is unauthorised.” The letter continued: “My client would like to believe that in the modern banking context which is set against a backdrop of robust due diligence, no mere letter from a body with no legal standing in Trinidad and Tobago, could usurp the due authority of the TTFA Board of Directors and/or induce the bank to breach its contract with the TTFA. “Should it come to light that the bank has provided any confidential information to, or acted to make any changes in respect to the TTFA accounts…my clients shall without delay approach the High Court or urgent assistance in preventing or stopping any breach or unlawful interference.” Wallace and his executive are currently challenging FIFA’s setting up of a normalisation committee at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.
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Post by Admin on Apr 23, 2020 20:23:18 GMT
FIFA, T&T government versus TTFA? guardian.co.tt/sports/fifa-tt-government-versus-ttfa-6.2.1102944.890d630947William Wallace, what have you done? In local jargon, “like you kill priest or what?” Poor Wally must have thought that he was just fighting the Incredible Hulk only to realise in the past week or so that he has come up against Superman, Iron Man and Batwoman, especially, flexing her muscles and warning him not to play games. Wow! you may say. Just when you thought you’d seen it all. Here we are again, the ex-executive of the TTFA (T&T Football Association) and this normalisation committee. The movie continues with more characters added into the script. Let me once again state I have no issue with the concept of FIFA’s normalisation committee entering any member association. What I have a problem with is how it was done to the TTFA and the timing of the action by the star of the movie - FIFA. I will not state the obvious why FIFA brought this normalization committee onboard after their president was here to open the ‘Home of Football’ (Couva). It is interesting to note that some former national footballers such as Dwight Yorke and Carlos Edwards are in support of the normalisation committee. I am not surprised at this stance as when you speak with so many of our athletes in various sporting disciplines, they complain bitterly about administrators and, in their view, their seeming quest for power and failure to adequately look after their welfare. This bears no difference in football. I am sure we remember the fight our Soca Warriors had to endure after they returned from Germany back in 2006. I expect the ‘new’ ex-executive of the TTFA without having been given a decent chance to prove themselves would be lumped in that category. I also read a letter to the Guardian Sports Editor last Sunday from Earl 'Ballhog" Jean who signed the piece as “Football coach” pleading with Wallace and company that “...good sense ought to prevail”. Only on checking his credentials, I realised he is the football coach of W Connection of which the former president of TTFA has a significant interest. The thing is when football was on the downward slide with money being thrown away and the debt increasing exponentially from $15 Million to $50 Million, where were these voices? Suddenly they have sprung to life. Mr Wallace and his executive shut down the ‘Home of Football’ because it did not meet certain statutory requirements but in just one week and with a small army of private sector companies, the facility’s wellness centre is ready for use at no cost to the TTFA. Now, I am overjoyed because the virus we are fighting here is a killer and anything anyone can do to save a fellow human being's life must be applauded. But one must ask the question: why couldn’t William Wallace get the job done and bring the building up to scratch and have it ready for use? It’s been widely publicised by the ex-TTFA executive that the building was unfit for use. This is after the building was masqueraded behind a grand opening with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, T&T’s Prime Minister, Minister of Sports and other dignitaries in attendance. Everyone walked around with big smiles, handshakes, hugs and kisses and then have the audacity to close the building. The strange thing is not a word from no one. How come none of the dignitaries questioned the closure of the building? More than that, to me this was not only a black mark against the TTFA but T&T as we took FIFA’s money, had an opening and it was then shut down with seemingly no questions asked. It is alleged that Wallace had put through several calls to the Minister of Sports after the TTFA elections in November 2019 and she never returned any. Now, surely, even if she was uninterested in his football plans, she must have cared about the ‘Home of Football’. Unfortunately, things are not making sense to me. All it would have taken is a return call to get the relevant statutory agencies involved and the facility would have been up and running since January, so why didn’t they offer to fix it before? I also read where the Minister of Sports admitted FIFA had briefed the T&T government of its impending action, before dissolving the TTFA and imposing a normalisation committee. What is even more startling, the Minister of Sports said, “I am yet to meet with the new head of the body, which FIFA has put in charge but I expect to do so in the next week or so”. Yet a democratically elected board for over three months, she never once met with its head. The Minister ultimately distanced herself from the story and she also claimed that Wallace never reached out to her and only did so about two weeks before the normalization committee was appointed, and insisting she was neutral about the tussle between FIFA and TTFA. Strangely enough, the Minister says all of a sudden the TTFA wants protection from FIFA and points out that two years ago, there was an issue with the women’s national senior team and they asked for the Ministry’s intervention. She was told that she should not be in the meeting as TTFA reports to FIFA. Were those Wallace’s words two years ago? You see, just like you, I long to get off this roller coaster. All I want is what’s best for T&T football. Thanks to CNC3, I recently relived one of my life’s most cherished moments - a trip to Bahrain to do commentary on our eventual victory to seal World Cup qualification. It hurts to see what is happening to T&T football off the field. A democratically elected body after three months in office being hounded out by an organisation seeking its agenda and our people in T&T playing a mischievous political game to assist that body with their political aspirations. Wallace, you will do well to remember King Austin sang “No one can deny, the price of progress is high”. Editor’s note: The views expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and do not reflect the views of any organisation of which he is a stakeholder. Tagged in:
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Post by Admin on Apr 27, 2020 20:18:20 GMT
Wallace wants to sign TTFA cheques guardian.co.tt/sports/wallace-wants-to-sign-ttfa-cheques-6.2.1105255.f4eec21c6dRobert Hadad, head of the FIFA's normalisation committee, could have the final say on whether the staff of the T&T Football Association (TTFA) as well as the technical staff, could be paid by next week. The staff of the TTFA has not been paid for March and April, and its general secretary had to borrow money to pay its salaries for February. There is a legal wrangle between former president William Wallace and FIFA's Normalisation committee for the TTFA accounts. Attorney for Wallace, Matthew GW Gayle, in a second letter to TTFA bankers First Citizens Bank (FCB) on Thursday, gave the bank until today to respond to a request which was made last Monday after a letter was sent to the institution, three days earlier. This latest development between the normalisation committee and the ousted football association's executive, which is headed by Wallace, means that the staff may have to wait much longer before they can be paid. However, yesterday Wallace told Guardian Media Sports that he's willing to perform all his duties as TTFA president in the interest of ensuring the payment of staff from monies which the organisation is expecting from FIFA, the world governing body for the sport. Wallace and his vice presidents Clynt Taylor, Sam Phillips and Susan Joseph-Warrick are challenging FIFA over its March 27 appointment of the normalisation committee to run the affairs of T&T football, through the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. The former officers believe that handing over the TTFA accounts to the normalisation committee is an act of surrendering their challenge. Wallace's role for the payment of workers is one of a signatory, once all documentation has been prepared and signed by TTFA finance manager Tyril Patrick. The other signatory to the accounts is former general secretary Azaad Khan since new general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan did not officially receive the position as a signatory, following the United TTFA victory during the TTFA annual general meeting (AGM) on November 24, last year. Wallace told Guardian Media Sports yesterday that he is willing to be a signatory to the payment of staff but was not willing to give up his power of being a signatory or change his signatories on the TTFA accounts. FIFA recently announced that it was handing over grants to its member associations, particularly those in need of help during the current COVID-19 pandemic environment. It also announced that a FIFA Relief Fund will also be accessible to vulnerable member associations. This means the embattled football association is in line to receive US$1.2 million (an estimated TT$6.7million), plus a CONCACAF US$160,000 grant, as well as an unknown amount for the relief fund once the parties (Hadad/FIFA and Wallace) can agree on how it can be done. Payment of funds by FIFA is usually done on Wednesdays and Fridays, which means the sport's governing body can release the cheques by this week but office and technical staff members will have to wait for a further three to four days before monies can show up in their accounts. Guardian Media Sports made calls to Hadad's phone but they went unanswered. Guardian Media Sports then sent messages to Hadad which asked: "If he would consider an option by Wallace for the TTFA account to be used for the FIFA transfer of funds. Wallace has said he is willing to put his signature to sign off for payment of TTFA staff but was not willing to change his signatories, is that something you will consider?" The message was read but Hadad did not respond. Meanwhile, a member of the TTFA who wished to remain anonymous, said he believed it was a good proposal for Wallace to remain as a signatory to the account in the interest of the staff being paid. He told Guardian Media Sports the situation is a workable one although FIFA can choose to wire the monies into Hadad's personal account if it did not want to use the signatories of the former executives. He noted that because it is unsure of how long the legal battle between TTFA and FIFA will take place, the staff members will be unable to take care of their families for an indefinite period.
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Post by Admin on Apr 30, 2020 21:40:56 GMT
Hart demands his TT$5m from TTFA guardian.co.tt/sports/hart-demands-his-tt5m-from-ttfa-6.2.1107238.8626719d72Two weeks after former national player Russell Latapy demanded from the T&TFA his US$6 million owed to him since 2009, another former national football coach Stephen Hart has demanded that the T&T Football Association (TTFA) pay him the US$742,444 (TT$5 million) in unpaid salary and benefits from his three-year stint in charge of the senior men's team by May 9. In a letter sent to TTFA general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan on Monday, Hart's lawyer Keith Scotland indicated that his client intends to levy against the cash-strapped association in the event that it fails to meet the deadline. The letter comes ousted TTFA executive members including former president William Wallace are currently engaged in proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over FIFA's decision to remove them from office and appoint a Normalisation Committee chaired by businessman Robert Hadad. The former executive is also still currently engaged in legal discussions with the association's bank First Citizens Bank over control of its accounts. In his lawsuit brought against the TTFA, Hart only sought to recoup his salary and benefits under his contracts and not additional damages for the TTFA's conduct in his case. According to his case statement, Hart was not paid his US$20,000 per month salary from September to October 2015 and from September to November 2016. Hart, who currently coaches Halifax Wanderers in Canada, also claimed for the US$25,000 per month salary, he would have earned between December 2016 and December 2018, if his contract was not terminated in November 2016. His lawyers contended that he was entitled to the payment as he was wrongfully terminated without reasons being given. In addition to the US$10,000 bonus for leading the team to the hexagonal stage of Concacaf World Cup qualification, Hart also claimed for US$7,444 in travel, food, and baggage expenses he incurred between 2015 and 2016. In November, High Court Judge Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell granted Hart a default judgement against the TTFA after it failed to register a defence to his claim. The outcome came two months after former TTFA technical director Kendal Walkes won his US$783,000 over being wrongfully dismissed by former TTFA president David John-Williams and the association's executive in March 2016. Similar lawsuits, albeit for lesser compensation, have been also won by the association's former technical staff over the past few years. The association has also faced litigation from suppliers over unpaid bills for goods and services previously provided. Hart, a former national player, was head coach of the Canadian national team before taking over the local job in June 2013. He led the team in two relatively successful Gold Cup campaigns in 2013 and 2015, where the team made it to the knock out stage on both occasions. Hart was eventually sacked after T&T was eliminated from the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. At the time his record was 16 wins, 12 draws and 15 losses in 43 matches.
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Post by Admin on May 1, 2020 18:43:48 GMT
guardian.co.tt/sports/wallace-defies-legal-threat-uses-ttfa-letterhead-6.2.1107269.07ce136883Wallace defies legal threat uses TTFA letterheadTTFA Letterhead signed by William Wallace on April 29 William Wallace, the ousted president of the T&T Football Association has disregarded a threat by FIFA's Normalisation Committee chairman Robert Hadad to not use the football association's letterhead, by issuing a release using the TTFA's letterhead in a responding to Hadad. Afterwards, he told Guardian Media Sports he will continue to function in his capacity of president of the TTFA, noting his legal representative will deal with everything else. Wallace and his vice presidents Clynt Taylor, Sam Phillips and Susan Joseph-Warrick were booted out of office on March 17, when the governing body for the sports globally FIFA decided to enforced Article 8.2 of its Statutes to appoint a normalisation committee on March 27 to manage local football. Wallace and his team have since decided to challenge this through the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne Switzerland. on Wednesday in a letter, however, Wallace said the accusation by Hadad is unfortunate and untrue. According to the local football boss: "I have read in one daily newspaper a quote attributed to the spokesman for the purported Normalization Committee appointed to manage the affairs of the Association, which accuses the democratically elected officers of the TTFA of "fraud" This is both unfortunate and untrue." "Having been elected following a democratic election, which incidentally was conducted under the supervision of FIFA and CONCACAF, we remain in charge of the Association and the only persons authorised to use the TTFA stationary. While the TTFA remains an affiliate of FIFA, it does not have the power to remove the democratically elected Executive and usurp the running of the TTFA by decree." "Thus the use of the TTFA stationary etc by FIFA’s normalisation committee is and remains unauthorised. This matter is presently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Given the value that the TTFA places in the relationship with FIFA, we have chosen to submit to the jurisdiction of CAS. However, make no mistakes about it, unless and until CAS rules to the contrary, the duly elected executive remains in charge of TTFA. I, therefore, will continue to use the TTFA stationary, as necessary, to communicate with TTFA personnel and the general public." The two parties (Wallace and Hadad) have also been embroiled in a legal battle for the use of the football association's accounts at First Citizens Bank, but the latter in a legal document on Monday denied both parties, saying it was unsure of whom had the right of ownership of the accounts. The bank, in a letter from its Attorney Kendell Alexander, said whoever wants access to the accounts must walk with a legal document as proof of ownership. Its decision prompted an immediate response from Wallace through his attorney Matthew Gayle, who described the situation as regrettable. But with the accounts needed for FIFA proposed injection of funds that represent its grants to member associations, as well as a Covid-19 Relief Funds, it is uncertain if Hadad would get it in time to pay office and technical staff salaries, among other things. Hadad was last night expected to meet with members of the technical staff and it was expected that he was going to assure them salaries soon.
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Post by Admin on May 8, 2020 1:55:29 GMT
Wallace attorney raises bias claim from CAS in FIFA appeal by
Derek Achong - Senior Court Reporter 14 hours ago Fri May 08 2020
Attorney Dr Emir Crowne
Lawyers representing the ousted T&T Football Association (TTFA) executive members are questioning whether the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) is biased towards their clients in their ongoing challenge against Fifa.
Attorney Dr Emir Crowne, who is representing former TTFA president William Wallace and his executive team, claimed in a three-page letter sent to Antonio de Quesada, the head of arbitration at the Switzerland-based international court, yesterday.
In the letter, which was obtained by Guardian Media Sports, Crowne sought to raise a series of procedural issues, which allegedly occurred after the appeal was filed on April 6, and led them to question the institutional independence of CAS.
Crowne pointed out that while his clients requested a sole arbitrator due to financial constraints, Fifa suggested using three.
"By agreeing to the respondent's request, the CAS would have tripled the cost of the arbitration," Crowne said.
He also took issue with the fact that the CAS set the cost of the arbitration as 40,000 Swiss francs (TT$276,000), although it is expected to take place via video conferencing to save on travel expenses for the arbitration panel and the CAS counsel.
Stating that his clients received no breakdown of the "exorbitant fees", Crowne said: "To that end, we are genuinely unsure how the CAS facilitates access to justice with such extravagant fees. The appellants are not from the developed world, nor are they as well-financed as the respondent."
Crowne questioned the CAS's decision to require the executive members to pay for the full cost of the appeal based on a "general rule", under which Fifa does not pay half the costs, as required under Article 64.2 of its procedural rules.
Under the rule, if one party fails to pay its share and the other fails to cover the entire amount by the deadline set by the court, the appeal is automatically withdrawn.
"On its face, therefore, the CAS appears to be a willing participant in the respondent's gamesmanship, especially if the CAS has institutional knowledge that the respondent-an entity with immeasurable financial resources- would not be advancing their share of the arbitration costs, and especially since it was the respondent who asked that the matter be heard before a three-person panel thereby tripling the cost of the proceedings," Crowne said.
He described the alleged conduct as "at least an unacceptable display of apparent institutional bias".
Crowne also referred to the fact that Fifa wrote to the CAS seeking an extension of time to file its response to the appeal until after the fees are paid by the former TTFA executive team and noted that it (Fifa) was essentially given an automatic extension.
"To compound the perception of institutional bias, the letter from CAS informing the appellants of CAS' ruling, is the very same correspondence which informed the appellants that the respondent had made a request, meaning that the CAS had ruled without even giving the appellant the opportunity to be heard," Crowne said.
Crowne suggested that even if his clients had applied the CAS for legal aid, it would not remedy the bias that has allegedly already arisen.
"As it stands, there are very real doubts that the CAS remains an appropriate and fair forum for the resolution of this dispute," Crowne said.
Wallace and his three vice presidents — Clynt Taylor, Joseph Sam Phillips, and Susan Joseph-Warrick filed the appeal after they were removed by Fifa on March 17 and replaced by a normalisation committee headed by businessman Robert Hadad and comprises attorney Judy Daniel and retired banker Nigel Romano.
In their appeal, the former executive members are claiming that they were wrongfully removed by Fifa despite being lawfully elected to their positions in November, last year.
The former executive members' lawyers were recently locked in a legal war of words with TTFA's bankers First Citizens' Bank over control of the association's accounts.
They have established an account for donations to fund the appeal on the crowd-funding platform GoFundMe, which had amassed US$4,220, up to late yesterday. The deadline for payments is May 20.
The former executive is also being represented by Matthew Gayle.
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Post by Admin on May 9, 2020 23:24:23 GMT
Waiting on FIFA
Ian Prescott trinidadexpress.com/sports/local/waiting-on-fifa/article_27843e1c-918b-11ea-9a7f-57345a9a4503.htmlATTORNEYS representing William Wallace’s ousted Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) are awaiting a response from Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), before making the next step in the case brought against world football’s governing body. This comes after the Court of Arbitration (CAS) yesterday acknowledged a strongly-worded letter written by Dr. Emir Crowne, objecting to cost and procedural discrepancies in a case brought against FIFA, by their clients, the former executive of the TTFA led by president William Wallace. “CAS has responded. What we are now waiting for is FIFA’s response,” stated attorney Matthew Gayle, who along with Crowne on April 6 had filed a CAS appeal against FIFA’s intervention into Trinidad and Tobago football. In his letter to CAS’s Head of Arbitration, Antonio De Quesada, on Thursday, Crowne questioned why a cash-strapped TTFA had to shoulder the entire burden of paying a US$41,000 advance cost to have the matter proceed, while FIFA, one of the world’s richest organisations, faced no such obligation. Crowne also raised other procedural discrepancies adopted in the case, filed on behalf of the former TTFA executive summarily removed from office by FIFA on March 17, after which a normalisation committee was appointed to run local football. “By way of letter dated April 30th, 2020, CAS advised the Appellants that the cost of the arbitration would be CHF 40,000 (40,000 Swiss francs). No breakdown of this exorbitant fee was provided,” Crowne’s correspondence stated. “We are genuinely unsure how the CAS facilitates access to justice with such extravagant fees. The Appellants are not from the developed world, nor are they as well-financed as the Respondent,” added Crowne. Yesterday, Gayle said Crowne’s letter sent to De Quesada should in no way suggest that the TTFA had abandoned the case against FIFA. “We very much have not abandoned the case,” Gayle reaffirmed. “The TTFA stands ready and willing to do the necessary, but obviously some concern have arise over the procedures and the approach of CAS,” Crowne had accused FIFA of “institutional bias”. “On its face, therefore, the CAS appears to be a willing participant in the Respondent’s gamesmanship, especially if the CAS had institutional knowledge that the Respondent --an entity with immeasurable financial resources-- would not be advancing their share of the arbitration costs, and especially since it was the Respondent themselves who asked that the matter be heard before a three person panel thereby tripling the cost of the proceedings,” Crowne letter stated. “To sum up, the Respondent and the CAS caused the arbitration fees to triple. The arbitration fees themselves are excessive per se,” stated Crowne, in his letter accusing CAS of institutional bias in favour of FIFA. Gayle said yesterday that Crowne’s letter served to strongly note their objections. “In our client’s best interest we can’t ignore these factors,” said Gayle, adding, “We had to acknowledge and object in a strong, responsible fashion.”
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Post by Admin on May 9, 2020 23:28:07 GMT
CAUGHT OFFSIDE TTFA must pay TT$275,000, Wallace lawyers claim CAS biastrinidadexpress.com/sports/local/caught-offside/article_70feab60-90c6-11ea-a8d5-5fe2625dbeda.htmlEmir Crowne Attorneys representing sidelined Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) executives have accused the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport of institutional bias, after being told they would have to pay a 40’000 Swiss francs (approximately TT$275,000) advance to have their matter against football’s world governing body, FIFA, heard. The CAS demand has prompted quick objection from attorneys Dr Emir Crowne and Matthew Gayle, who yesterday wrote Antonio De Quesada, CAS’s head of arbitration, seeking to highlight discrepancies in the process. “By way of letter dated April 30th, 2020, CAS advised the Appellants that the cost of the arbitration would be CHF 40,000 (40,000 Swiss francs). No breakdown of this exorbitant fee was provided, particularly since the hearing would have likely taken place by video conference and the usual travel costs of the panel and the CAS’ counsel would have been eliminated. Instead, the fee seems to have been unaffected,” the T&T lawyers argued. “To that end, we are genuinely unsure how the CAS facilitates access to justice with such extravagant fees. The Appellants (TTFA) are not from the developed world, nor are they as well-financed as the Respondent.” Should Wallace’s team not be able to meet the advance costs, their matter against FIFA will have to be withdrawn or be thrown out by CAS before it even begins. Contacted yesterday afternoon, Wallace would not say whether he was withdrawing the protest. “We are meeting and we will decide what is the next step,” he briefly said, before referring further comment to his legal team which is also representing TTFA executive members Clynt Taylor, Joseph Sam Phillip and Susan Joseph, who filed a CAS appeal on April 6, after FIFA set up a normalisation committee headed by local businessman Robert Hadad. The lawyers accuse FIFA of manipulating the process so that the costs become exorbitant and out of the reach of the TTFA executives. Also known as United TTFA, Wallace and his colleagues have so far only been able to raise US$4,220 to date through their online funding-raising effort. Yesterday’s correspondence to De Quesada addressed previous CAS correspondence to the Wallace team. The CAS letter to the TTFA of April 30, 2020 also stated:“However, I must inform you that, as a general rule, FIFA does not pay any arbitration costs in advance when it acts as a Respondent in a procedure before CAS, which is admissible to CAS pursuant to Article R64.2 of the Code. This means that, according to the same provision of the Code, the Appellant has to pay the entirety of the advance of costs.” In addition, FIFA also issued a letter to the CAS indicating that their deadline to file submissions must therefore be suspended until the TTFA executives settle the entirety of the advance fees. “To sum up, the Respondent and the CAS caused the arbitration fees to triple. The arbitration fees themselves are excessive per se, especially since the proceedings were likely to take place by video conferencing due to the CAS’ Emergency Guidelines,” the TTFA’s lawyers wrote. “On its face, therefore, the CAS appears to be a willing participant in the Respondent’s gamesmanship, especially if the CAS had institutional knowledge that the Respondent—an entity with immeasurable financial resources—would not be advancing their share of the arbitration costs, and especially since it was the Respondent themselves who asked that the matter be heard before a three person panel thereby tripling the cost of the proceedings. “ The TTFA’s lawyers are arguing that by procedure, both parties would have been required to pay 50 per cent of advanced costs, and without FIFA making its position known on advanced cost payments, CAS had already made a decision that the TTFA, being the ones who brought the challenge, had to pay all of the advanced costs. “We note, with concern, that the Respondent 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 Appellants that “as general rule, FIFA does not pay any arbitration costs in advance,” Crowne and Gayle said. “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.” Facebook Twitter Email Print Save CAS STARTS PROCESS CAS STARTS PROCESS The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that a case brought by ousted executives of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association against the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is proceeding normally.
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