– GFF president still denies knowledge
By Rawle Toney
A member of the Golden Jaguars football team is maintaining that when the players confronted Guyana Football Federation (GFF) president Colin Klass in the wee hours of Monday morning at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Trinidad and Tobago that Klass was told that the players were going to retire from international football until such time as he (Klass) steps down.
“Yes, we met Mr. Klass and yes, we let him know that if he and his administration has anything to do with Guyana’s football we will retire for ever and, as a matter of fact, made it clear too that we want him to go for the betterment of football in Guyana since he is doing nothing for us,” dapper striker Collie `Hitman’ Hercules told Stabroek Sport yesterday in an exclusive interview.
Klass, however is maintaining his earlier stance that he was unaware of the players’ position.
Klass has admitted to a meeting with the players following the team’s failure to reach the finals of the Digicel Caribbean Cup football tournament which takes place next month but is adamant that they only met on “other football related matters like money and so on.”
However, the Golden Jaguars are continuing to roar for Klass’s head.
Hercules yesterday re-iterated the players’ position that they want Klass out of the office he has held for two decades and are making a further call for the public to support them in this venture.
“We are asking the entire nation to stand behind us in our attempt to rid football of a problem which has been hampering us from going forward,” Hercules added.
“We simply feel that we have had enough of what we are going through and Mr. Klass is acting like everything is all good with the sport. There’s no enthusiasm because the players have gotten fed up.”
All day yesterday Klass and his administration remained tight-lipped on the situation with Klass’s only comment being that the players never told him that they had a problem with him at the helm of Guyana’s football.
But Hercules said that the players will soon be upping their protest and they are seeking to have an audience with FIFA vice president and president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and CONCACAF Austin `Jack’ Warner.
Stabroek Sports yesterday contacted president of the Georgetown Football Association, Troy Mendonca, who, along with GFA secretary, Marlon Cole, have been strongly advocating that Klass step down for the good of the game.
“I’m not permitted as a representative of football to make a comment to the press but as you recall earlier in the year that I had made some statements and my position has not changed. I think what you are seeing now is a representation of the efforts being made for football,” said Mendonca.
He added: “I’m a servant of football and there are rules which will not allow me to go to the press as I would want to but like I said early in the year, I made my point about this same situation so I’m trying my best to continue within the rules so that I can continue to serve football for the best interest of the same players and the sport but to be honest, it leaves a lot to be desired.”
Meanwhile, a high-ranking football official (who spoke on the condition of anonymity) who has been following the Guyana football situation said he wondered how long it would have taken for the players to say enough was enough.
The official said he had followed the newspaper reports of the national football team being kicked out of grounds for the simple sin of wanting to train whilst preparing for important engagements and said he knew one day the players would finally be unable to stand it no longer and rebel.
The official said he hoped that Klass would show some decency and finally end his long reign at the helm of Guyana’s football which would enable a new course to be charted for the good of the game not only in Guyana but in the Caribbean.
