St Benedict's player ruled ineligible, Fatima set to win SSFL crown

The disciplinary committee of the Secondary Schools Football League has ruled that St Benedict's College striker Derrel Garcia was ineligible to play a few matches this season. As a result, 12 points have been deducted from the school's total and St Benedict's have moved from first to fourth in the standings.

At the end of October, St Benedict's were initially crowned champions after ending the campaign with 41 points, five points ahead of second-placed Fatima College.

St Benedict's have been penalised for four matches they won during the season when Garcia was not eligible to play. Victories against San Juan North Secondary, Fatima, St Anthony's College and Queen's Royal College (QRC) have been taken away from St Benedict's.

The new standings show Fatima in first position (38 points), Presentation College San Fernando (35) second, St Anthony's (33) third and St Benedict's (29) fourth.

"St Benedict's has until Friday 3 January to appeal the decision of the Disciplinary Committee if they so desire," a SSFL release said on December 30.

The issue concerning Garcia arised when he tried to resume classes at St Benedict's after leaving to pursue an opportunity overseas.

"The hearing focused on Derrel Garcia’s return to school after spending time overseas for an internship programme. His school attendance as a St Benedict’s College student was disrupted for the period August 2023 to May 2024 when he went to pursue the internship programme with CF Intercity International Academy based in Alacante, Spain."

The findings of the Disciplinary Committee revealed that Garcia represented the school before he attended classes at St Benedict's.

"On September 25, 2024, Derrel’s mother wrote to the principal of St Benedict’s College, Mr Gregory Quan Kep, seeking Derrel’s reinstatement into the school, however, there was no evidence of a written response from principal Mr Quan Kep to Miss Garcia’s letter. Nevertheless, attendance records from St Benedict’s College confirmed that Derrel’s first day attending classes for the September to December 2024 term, was Tuesday October 8, 2024."

He was therefore ineligible to play against San Juan on October 2, Fatima on October 5, St Anthony's on October 7 and QRC on October 9.

Although he started classes a day before the QRC contest, the rule states that a player must be a student for 72 hours before playing.