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“Republic (Noun): State or nation in which the supreme power resides in all citizens with the right to vote (the electorate), and is exercised by representatives elected, directly or indirectly, by them, and is responsible to them.” (Source) Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language, (2nd full edition, 1973).
When Trinidad and Tobago was declared a Republic in 1976, there was a conversion from the use of the Order of the Queen’s Council as a Constitution to “an indigenous instrument of government drawn up by the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.”
It could be inferred then, that in the entire fabric of society this way of thinking would be reflected in the citizens of the country, growing up to make our own decisions respecting the rule of law. Fast forward to the year 2020, and one may start to wonder if anyone has turned back the hands of time. On September 24, 2020, as the country celebrated becoming a Republic some 44 years ago, its citizens received the bitter news that the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation had been suspended by FIFA until further notice. This suspension is simply the result of the TTFA’s refusal to follow the FIFA rules in relation to the resolution of your dispute.
After careful consideration of all the facts involved, it becomes apparent that there are a host of issues to consider from a legal, political, and even moral point of view. So it would be quite difficult, if not impossible, to effectively judge or even weigh in on all of those points without considering these issues from a holistic point of view. In the end, one or both parties involved would almost certainly be dissatisfied.
Over the past few weeks, the Trinidad and Tobago Sports and Law Association has embarked on a number of comments on the impasse between TTFA and FIFA, designed simply to whet their readers’ appetites and encourage debate on this important topic. The reality is that this is a difficult case even for experienced professionals and, at the end of the day, the only path that is likely to bring a truly amicable resolution is one in which there is commitment and contribution from all parties involved. As our colleagues previously suggested, one way that a resolution can be reached is through the use of alternative dispute resolution.
Another way that we now suggest is by establishing a local court of first instance specifically created to resolve sports disputes (after consultation with relevant stakeholders) with appeals from this “Sports Court” only on matters of law that go to the Court of Appeal. .
Access to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is effectively inaccessible to the poor. We saw it first hand where the amount quoted by the CAS for arbitration payable by the TTFA was $ 40,000 Swiss francs (TT $ 276,000), and this was for a virtual court hearing. This, along with legal costs, can have the unfortunate effect of making access to sports justice unlikely, if not impossible, for aggrieved parties. Many international sports governing bodies include expulsion clauses in their constitutions and statutes with the intention of removing the jurisdiction of local courts from their members. While it may be beneficial to do so, there is also the unfortunate effect of smaller nations struggling on an uneven playing field based in Switzerland.
With a specialized court, judges and sports experts with experience and education in Sports Administration, Law and Practice can judge effectively in the same way that the Caribbean Court of Justice offers an alternative to the Privy Council or the Labor Court offers an alternative to the Court Higher. Cut. We are adamant that “often a good layman can do justice better than a bad lawyer.”
When the TTFA was unable to access the CAS in Switzerland, they naturally turned to our local judiciary for justice. This was met with the real and overt threat of sanctions from FIFA in the form of international tournament bans and fund removal, sending the organization into a further tailspin. In the end, with the suspension of the TTFA, there has effectively been no access to justice or even an adequate opportunity to be heard.
We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that controversies will arise frequently in the sports sector, nor are we choosing sides in relation to what has happened in this case and what the final court decisions could be, but we are sure that for Restoring full confidence in the fabric of sports governance, a specialized judicial institution formed in consultation with governments, stakeholders and international governing bodies, which is the most important thing accessible to all, is an absolute necessity.
Like an underdog team that has played with steadfast determination for 90 minutes resisting wave after wave of attacks from a superior team only to concede in “Fergie’s time”, now we have to reflect and rebuild. At the end of the game, it is the Trinidad and Tobago team, its citizens, stakeholders, players and fans who ultimately suffer the biggest loss. Whether the issues arose as a result of FIFA not playing fair, the TTFA executive must confront its members and explain what has happened, including how the matter was allegedly dropped.
Red cards only last for a while and then come back onto the playing field again. And that’s all we want: to play again.
—Farai Hove Masaisai is the audience
Trinidad and Tobago Relations Officer
Tobago Association for Sport and Law and Garth Gilbert is serving as treasurer.
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