Griffith: Heavy price if Fifa court matter continues

COMMISSIONER of Police (CoP) Gary Griffith says if the United TT Football Association (TTFA), led by William Wallace, continues to fight world governing body Fifa in court, the development of football in TT will be affected. He is asking for the matter to be resolved through mediation.

"I have the world of respect for Mr Wallace and his slate, and I do believe that they have a major role to play in the development of our football in the near future. In fact, this was endorsed by them being appointed to do just that in the last election," Griffith said in a media release.

Griffith believes TT football will come out on the losing end.

"The end cannot justify the means by the present course of action, because as with any mission, one cannot just look at the short-term result, but instead look towards the domino effect, as it relates to what would trigger another reaction by Fifa. This is what any good leader, manager, administrator, player, supporter or patriot of football would do in this situation."

The United TTFA is currently in a court battle against Fifa.

On March 17, Fifa removed former TTFA president Wallace and his executive from office (deputies Clynt Taylor, Susan Joseph-Warrick and Joseph Sam Phillip). They had been elected in November 2019.

Fifa appointed a normalisation committee led by local businessman Robert Hadad to run local football for two years, saying the decision was made because of the association’s financial woes and “massive debt.”

In April, the ousted executive made an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, saying the decision was a breach of the TTFA’s constitution. Wallace and his team then felt they would not get a "fair hearing" from CAS and appealed to the local High Court on May 18.

On August 13, Justice Carol Gobin said that the matter must be resolved in TT, but days later, Fifa insisted it must be resolved by CAS.

TT footballers will not get the opportunity to represent their country if the battle continues, according to the CoP.

"Any club or zone supporting the present stance to take Fifa to court is virtually agreeing that we are prepared to have all of our national teams shut down, and banned from participating in all competitive and friendly international tournaments and matches, inclusive of the upcoming World Cup and Concacaf Gold Cup."

Giving more details on how he thinks the current fight against Fifa will affect local football, Griffith said, "This would also mean massive loss of revenue from several quarters, inclusive of the same Fifa, as well as sponsorship, and support from the private and public sector, which we cannot swallow at this time, especially with the massive debt that the normalisation committee is presently trying to pay off...the present direction would just add fuel to the fire and sink us further."

Griffith said players in their late 20s and early 30s are "looking forward to what may be their possible final chance to represent their country" in top-level international football.

He added that "several young players in that squad (are) now looking to establish their professional and international careers...we must not be dream killers for young people in our country."

Griffith said the football fans in TT want to see TT football rise to the pinnacle of the sport again.

"You do not do all it takes to win a battle, just to lose a war. Nobody wins if we go down the road via the local court, especially for our country, for our football development, and for the dreams of many, not just players, but the hundreds of thousands of supporters who would lose the opportunity to dream of one day seeing a repeat of what we achieved in 2006."

The 2006 World Cup in Germany is the only time TT qualified for the Fifa World Cup.

In early July, Fifa considered resolving the situation with United TTFA through mediation, but that option fell through. Griffith is hoping the parties will consider that option again.

"Let us rectify our differences via mediation and respect for each other, which can then become a win-win for all. I am confident that Mr Wallace and United TTFA, Mr Hadad and the normalisation committee, Fifa, Concacaf and every football-loving citizen in this country would prefer (that)."