Collin ‘BL’ Aaron, Manager of Slingerz FC said the club has commenced legal proceedings against the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) following a decision from CONCACAF to debar them from participating in the 2017 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship.
Aaron, who is a member of veteran promoters, the Kashif and Shanghai Organization, during a brief comment declared: “The legal proceedings has commenced and I will give you all the other information on another day.”
After months of uncertainty, CONCACAF, in a correspondence to the GFF, ruled that Stag Beer Elite League winner Slingerz FC and runners-up Alpha United were barred from participating in the CFU Club Championship due not the two clubs not being in good standing with the GFF.
The two clubs along with Pele FC and Georgetown Football Club (GFC) withdrew from the second season of the Elite League after being at loggerheads over several issues with the GFF.
Prior to the regional body’s decision, Aaron had indicated to this newspaper, that the Vergenoegen club will initiate legal proceedings against the GFF if they were not allowed to compete in the regional tournament.
Yesterday, sources close to the GFF said that the action by Slingerz could result in them being banned.
“The constitution is very clear and going to the court will result in massive bans and suspensions for those. Due process from a football standpoint was followed by the GFF, they asked CONCACAF legal to pronounce. CONCACAF has pronounced on it and they [the clubs] have yet to respond.
“The three pillars of their [clubs] argument rest on the contract, the lack of consultation and the GFF being unconstitutional. The GFF has had meetings with them inclusive of the statutory meetings, CONCACAF has concluded that the rules and regulations doesn’t constitute a contract and they have also concluded that the GFF has the constitutional power to make those provisions,” the sources pointed out.
The two clubs have yet to respond to the GFF on the recent ruling by CONCACAF.
“CONCACAF has sent correspondences but they have not responded and what would they have say? They have found themselves in a quandary and they might not be able to appeal to CONCACAF because of the ruling and they might not be able to appeal to [International Federation of Association Football] FIFA because FIFA will refer them back to CONCACAF.
“Also the decision for them not to be a part of the CFU Club Championship is not a GFF executive decision but a decision from CONCACAF,” the sources added.
Asked about the sanctions that could be meted out to the clubs, the sources said “More than likely they could be relegated because they voluntarily opted out of the Elite League.”
The sources also revealed that this action could occur at the next GFF congress and that the clubs would lose their voting rights.
