Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves has disclosed that the entity is yet to file an official protest to CONCACAF and FIFA regarding the alleged ineligibility of Trinidad and Tobago’s Andre Boucard during the World Cup Qualifiers, as they are still gathering the necessary facts.
This was confirmed yesterday during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport. According to Alves, the local governing body is in the process of gathering the relevant facts and analysing the respective rules surrounding the possible ineligibility of the player fielded by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) during the recently concluded World Cup Qualifiers in the Dominican Republic.
He explained, “No we have not submitted a formal protest, we are still looking at the material, the last thing we want to do is write a protest that doesn’t have any substance to it. We are at the research stage still. We are doing research, we would only go down that line if the material would support that decision.”
The TTFA has been accused of fielding an ineligible player in the form of Boucard, 36, by the Puerto Rico football authorities during their FIFA World Cup Qualifier. According to the report from Inside World Football, the TTFA registered Boucard as plying his trade for English sixth tier unit Maidstone United despite records to the contrary.
Boucard did not feature against Guyana in a match which was won by a comfortable 3-0 score by the ‘Soca Warriors’. However he did feature against Puerto Rico, making an appearance in the 85th minute of their 1-1 stalemate.
However, it was revealed by Inside World Football that Boucard was registered as a player intermediary [agent] with the English FA, despite the latter expressly prohibiting an agent competing in the elite professional and semi-professional realms of the sport.
According to Rule 1.2 of Appendix II in the English FA rules; “An Official (as defined by the FIFA Statutes or any successor here to) or a Player cannot be an Intermediary. An Intermediary becoming an Official or a Player shall have his Registration suspended for as long as he remains an Official or a Player.”
Meanwhile, FIFA’s rules on eligibility read states, “1. If a player takes part in an official match despite being ineligible, his team will be sanctioned by forfeiting the match (cf. art. 31) and paying a minimum fine of CHF 6,000. If a player takes part in a friendly match despite being ineligible, his team will be sanctioned by forfeiting the match and paying a minimum fine of CHF 4,000.”
Alves further noted that the facts gathered will guide the eventual decision of the federation, as it would be unwise to initiate a formal protest that lacks any merit or relevance.
“It would be wrong of us to go down that line if the material doesn’t support it. The research material will guide us, so far we are exploring all options in terms of getting the resource materials and looking at all the relevant FIFA laws. Where all of that points us that is what we are going to do,” he added.
The GFF President on April 17th, disclosed that the federation is duty bound to file a protest to the relevant governing bodies once the facts surrounding the possible ineligibility of the Soca Warriors player can be validated.
