FIFA retains new legal team in case against TTFA

FIFA has appointed attorneys M Hamel-Smith and Co as its new legal team in its case against the TT Football Association (TTFA).

In a notice issued by FIFA’s chief legal and compliance officer Dr Emilio Garcia, on Tuesday, M Hamel-Smith and Co replaced the services of the law offices of Dr Claude Denbow SC.

The latter was retained by the world governing body on May 27 but had its services relinquished less than two weeks later. No reason was given for the sudden change of legal aid.

This correspondence was also sent to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Justice, in Port-of-Spain, the law office of Dr Claude Denbow and to TTFA’s legal representative Matthew Gayle. The local football administration is also being defended by Dr Emir Crowne. The document was also signed off by M Hamel-Smith & Co attorney Cherie Gopie.

On March 17, FIFA decided to remove the TTFA executive – William Wallace, Clynt Taylor, Susan Joseph-Warrick and Joseph Sam Phillip – from office and set up a normalisation committee due to mounting debts ($50 million) accumulated by the local football governing body.

On May 18, Wallace and his legal team withdrew their matter against FIFA from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to the local High Court.

The legal action asks the court to declare FIFA’s move to remove the TTFA executive and implement a normalisation committee (headed by Robert Hadad) as “null, void and of no legal and/or binding effect” and to place a permanent injunction against FIFA and its normalisation committee from “attempting (to remove the TTFA’s) duly elected executive from office” and “interfering in the day-to-day management of the (TTFA).”

Hamel-Smith and partner Jonathan Walker successfully represented US television giant Telemundo, three years ago, against the TTFA, during the previous term of then local football president David John-Williams.

John-Williams attempted to deter Telemundo from exercising television rights for TT’s World Cup qualifying matches and tried to resell the rights. However, the former TTFA head folded and had the matter settled out of court.

Fifa has a deadline of June 18 to file its response to the TTFA’s injunction.