Despite selecting St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the next round in the official 2018 World Cup draw, FIFA is yet to formally contact Guyana on the result of the entity’s complaint against the former for allegedly fielding an ineligible player during their qualifiers.
In an invited comment to Stabroek Sports, Chairman of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalization Committee Clinton Urling said “FIFA has not formally responded. We have sought an update and are awaiting a response”.
He further said “Once the ruling is delivered, we will release the findings to the media”. The GFF’s protest against St. Vincent and the Grenadines for allegedly fielding an ineligible player during their qualifiers supposedly failed as the latter was selected on Monday July 25th as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Known as Vincy Heat, St. Vincent and the Grenadines was drawn against Aruba in the two-legged third round ties of the CONCACAF qualifiers which is slated to be held from August 31st to September 8th.
Other matchups in the section include Curacao vs El Salvador, Canada vs Belize, Grenada vs Haiti, Jamaica vs Nicaragua and Antigua and Barbuda vs Guatemala. CONCACAF giants the United States of America and CFU heavyweights Trinidad and Tobago are already through to the next round.
Guyana had officially filed a complaint against the Vincentians for allegedly fielding an ineligible player following their first round elimination via the away goal rule.
Their two-legged affair ended 6-6 on aggregate following a 4-4 draw at the National Stadium on June 14th and a 2-2 draw in the opening game at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Guyana was sent packing from the event on the away goals rule after the visitors scored four away goals compared to the Golden Jaguars’ two away goals. Following the conclusion of the fixture, the GFF had written FIFA alleging that a Vincentian player was not a holder of a passport from the country.
The GFF had stated that the Vincentians 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 the nationality of a competing player.
Due to this regulation, Guyana wrote to FIFA regarding the alleged breach by the Vincentians in hopes of sealing a place in the next round via the technicality.
In an odd twist of faith, Aruba, the Vincentians’ opponent, sealed their place in the next round of the qualifiers after securing a positive outcome in their protest against Barbados in the previous stage.
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 progressed to the next round of the qualifiers.
