Successive abandonment of Congress viewed as crass by international community – Matthias

Aug 13, 2014 Sports

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By Rawle Welch
“In the eyes of the international football community we would have brought the game into disrepute, while they would have also witnessed a degree of crass behaviour by those that walked out of the Congress that forced its abandonment for the second time in succession,” Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Christopher Matthias told Kaieteur Sport yesterday.

Matthias, who was speaking during an interview at the entity’s Head Office, was asked to give his opinion on how he felt the walkout by certain associations would have impacted the views of the FIFA / CONCACAF representatives.
He said that the action will now force FIFA/CONCACAF to adjudicate on the matter and in light of FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke’s earlier communiqué that threatened to refer the matter to the relevant Committee for possible sanctions if the directive to settle all issues in a positive manner was not adhered to, then whatever penalties if any are forthcoming would be as a result of the posture of the opposed associations.
The GFF Boss, who has been in constant battle with factions of the General Council who’re acting in divergence to his governance, was also asked about the possible implications of the aborted Congress and he responded by saying that the most recent development could result in a caution by FIFA/CONCACAF, but the worst case scenario could be suspension or the introduction of a Normalisation Committee.
While, not wanting to pronounce on the outcome, Matthias reminded that the two governing bodies’ observers had viewed the attitude of the opposing factions and were quite aware of their intentions.
In outlining the sequence of events that led to the stalemate, Matthias said the aggrieved faction would have written to FIFA questioning the right for him to reconvene Congress on August 9 and to establish the legitimacy of the Interim Management Committees (IMC) vote.
According to Matthias, FIFA responded by stating that the reconvening of the Congress on August 9 as chosen by the President was legitimate and that the agenda from the previously aborted Congress remains the same.
Matthias said commonsense would have concluded that the question about the eligibility of who could and could not vote was a non-issue, adding that the IMCs’ were legitimate members providing that they were not suspended or expelled.
He referenced FIFA’s acknowledgement of Normalisation Committees fundamental rights that were discussed at its Congress during the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
“The only time you do not enjoy the right to vote is when you are either suspended or expelled.”
He revealed that the GFF facilitated a Sub-Committee to discuss the eligibility of voters at the Congress and the Electoral Committee that was set up held the position that no member should be disenfranchised.
The President stated that all agreed that compromise, reconciliation and resolution should be the principal factors to arrive at a consensus that will suit all parties. These three tenets were almost immediately tested when the discussion about nomination and the subsequent filling of the two vacant Vice-Presidents positions arose.
“They (opposing factions) wanted to have both positions filled by their nominees  and we advocated a split in the selectees, but instead of meeting a compromise we had a walkout and this happened in the presence of FIFA/CONCACAF representatives, a  most unfortunate occurrence in front of esteemed gentlemen,” Matthias recalled.
He added that they had proposed Odinga Lumumba as being one of the Vice-Presidents, but his nomination was met with resistance from his own faction so it became evidently clear that they were not enthusiastic about sticking to the earlier agreement hence their concluding action.
Quizzed on the way forward, the GFF President said that very shortly the national team will commence encampment under the guidance of Head Coach Denzil Thompson with assistance from Brian Joseph, Andrew Hazel and Technical Development Officer Lyndon France in preparations for the upcoming Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Caribbean Cup slated to be staged in St. Kitts from September 3-7.
“While we await the outcome of the latest disruption we are being advised to focus on the holistic development of football and we intend to do just that,” Matthias mentioned.
He called on all right thinking Guyanese to ensure that Guyana’s football does not return to the clutches of those who have no interest in developing the game, but rather their personal ambitions.

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