GFF Normalization Committee Chairman Clinton Urling says that FIFA has been in contact with the entity regarding their complaint against St. Vincent and the Grenadines for fielding an ineligible player and that a decision is expected to be taken shortly.
In an invited comment to Stabroek Sports, Urling said “We have been contacted by FIFA and they have requested information from the GFF. We have not received a verdict from them but we expect this to be done soon”.
Asked if the appeal is successful, when the squad will re-assemble to continue their campaign, he said “I don’t want to speculate on the outcome of our protest to FIFA, so I will not offer any commentary on our next steps as it pertains to the Senior Men’s team”.
Guyana officially filed a complaint against the Vincentians for allegedly fielding an ineligible player after suffering a first round elimination via the away goal rule.
The two-legged affair finished 6-6 on aggregate following a 4-4 draw at the National Stadium on June 14th.
In the opening leg at the Arnos Vale Stadium, Guyana and the Vincentians battled to a 2-2 stalemate. Guyana were eliminated on the away goals rule after the visitors scored four goals away from home compared to the Golden Jaguar’s two away goals.
According to earlier information emanating from the GFF, the contentious Vincentian player is allegedly forward Garvin James. James, who is English by birth is not a holder of a Vincentian passport and as such, violated FIFA’s regulation regarding eligibility of individuals.
FIFA’s rules for the 2018 World Cup states that passports are the only official documentation that can prove a competing player’s nationality. Due to this regulation, the GFF had written to FIFA regarding the matter following their elimination.
If Guyana is successful in their appeal, the result will be reversed to a 3-0 victory and a fine will be imposed on the Vincentians.
It would also translate to Guyana automatically qualifying for the next round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
In a situation similar to Guyana’s, CFU rival Barbados was kicked out of the World Cup Qualifiers by FIFA after it was found that they fielded an ineligible player against Aruba.
The ineligible player was Hadan Holligan who received two yellow cards in two previous matches and was slated to serve a one game suspension. However Holligan took the field in their second leg against Aruba and scored in the process.
Barbados initially prevailed over Aruba 3-2 on aggregate but was disqualified and asked to pay a fine of US$ 6470 following the conclusion of the investigation.
Thus Aruba earned a 3-0 victory and will progress to the next round of the qualifiers which is the 12-team third-round of CONCACAF qualifying slated to be played between August 31st and September 8th.
