Wallace vows to stick to his word

William Wallace  -
William Wallace -

OUSTED president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) William Wallace has vowed to stick to his word and immediately convene an Annual General Meeting (AGM) with the TTFA membership to chart a way forward, if High Court Justice Carol Gobin rules in favour of the former TTFA executive (which includes vice-presidents Clynt Taylor and Joseph Sam Phillip).

The TT Football Association (TTFA) will know on Tuesday, at 3 pm, if FIFA’s decision to remove Wallace and his executive from the helm of the local football body in March, and appoint a normalisation committee, was justified or in violation of local laws.

Justice Gobin said at a virtual hearing on Friday that she will give her decision by e-mail.

However, if Justice Gobin rules in favour of the world governing body, the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee, led by businessman Robert Hadad, assumes its role as head of the local fraternity.

A victory for FIFA, according to Wallace, would bring to an end a seven-month legal battle between the two football organisations.

Wallace said on Friday, “We are waiting Justice Gobin’s decision on Tuesday and that would determine how we go forward. As we indicated earlier, we would call an AGM immediately if we are victorious. And if the decision goes the other way, then we walk away from this. There would be no appeal by the United TTFA.”

Newsday also attempted to get a response from Hadad, on Justice Gobin’s decision, but calls to his phone went unanswered.

At the November 24, 2019 TTFA election, the William Wallace-led United TTFA slate was elected to take charge of the local football organisation.

On March 17, FIFA removed the TTFA executive and appointed a normalisation committee to run TT's football.

FIFA said the move was necessary owing to TTFA's massive debt, extremely low overall financial management methods and “a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity.”

The legality of this last transition has been challenged by Wallace's executive with Justice Gobin set to make a judgment on Tuesday.

FIFA, though, did not file a defence in the case against the TTFA in the local court. The world governing body maintains its stance that it does “not recognise the claim at the Trinidad court, and that the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) is the only correct tribunal to consider this dispute.”

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"Wallace vows to stick to his word"

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