He contemptuously said show me the evidence

Oct 06, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
It’s public knowledge that in the run up to Guyana’s May 2015 General and Regional Elections, Clinton Urling, in an attempt to secure the best platform to launch his short-lived political career intimated himself with then Speaker of the House and current Chairman of the Alliance for Change – Mr. Raphael Trotman and several members of the now APNU-AFC Coalition. At the same time he befriended Mr. Trotman and members of the diplomatic corps, to whom he also presented himself as a trustworthy up and coming young politician, he also “knocked glasses” with members of the then People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government and political party.
To the surprise and scorn of many, including members of the Blue Caps youth group Mr. Urling once presided over, he declared his candidacy for the (PPP), a political party that was tainted by repeated allegations of corruption, ties to criminals and the illicit narcotics trade and violence comparable to no other period in Guyana’s post-independence history.
When asked by Demerara Waves of his concerns about these allegations, then candidate on the PPP’s election list Clinton Urling said, “If you have the evidence and you show me the evidence, maybe I may be persuaded to look at it, but that’s all based on perceptions. If there is direct evidence of corruption, then I think they would have been prosecuted.”Shame on you – to believe that political ambition could ever take a backseat to integrity, decency and the will of well-intentioned people.
It is unconscionable to think that Mr. Urling, whose tenure resulted in FIFA blocking funds to Guyana’s football programme subsequently, is criticising the GFF Executive and Secretariat. To secure conditional funding to basic operational requirements, FIFA requested further investigations into improprieties and implementation of new regulatory measures and safeguards.
Since Mr. Urling chaired the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Normalisation Committee (NC), he has become an overnight expert and enthusiast of football administration, perhaps with a little more subtly this time around having learned his lesson from the infamously contemptuous “show me the evidence” challenge, an insult to prevailing commonsense of Guyanese. Furthermore, since the democratically elected new GFF Executive to office in 2015, Mr. Urling who was once tasked with stabilizing local football, has been unrelenting and interestingly misled, in his public commentary and tacit private actions to destabilize the GFF Executive and Secretariat, by throwing some serious but not out of character shade.
This began in 2016 when Team Unity, comprised of persons such as Odinga Lumumba – Alpha United, Javid Ali – Slingerz FC, Fizail Khan – GFC and Robie Rambarran – Pele, was defeated by Team Integrity at the November 2015 GFF elections. This was despite Mr. Urling’s last minute attempt to institute a stipulation requiring police clearances for all candidates contesting the election. Mr. Urling also waived membership conditions for clubs affiliated with the Georgetown Football Association (GFA), paving the way for some clubs not in good financial and management standing with the GFA, to vote, presumably for the current GFA President, Mr. Clifton Hicken. Mr. Urling along with members of the Kashif and Shangai team and Mr. Lumumba were all present at the GFA’s caucus as clubs “voted”, raising questions about coercive collaboration, intent and the integrity of the exercise.
Fast track to January 2017, Mr. Urling under the pretense of intervening in the best interest of football in Guyana, sought to undermine the authority of the GFF Executive, writing directly to CONCACAF’s President, notifying him of the elite league impasse between the Executive and the aforementioned clubs, advising him of the required recourse.
This was met with strong condemnation from CONCACAF and FIFA, both of which documented and publicly endorsed their support of the GFF Executive’s constitutional authority to expand the elite league and relegate the four teams that essentially forfeited their matches by electing to not participate. Still not satisfied, Mr. Urling is on record advising the four clubs that the GFF constitution on Guyana’s laws are on their side, court action, currently pending was ultimately initiated by Alpha United and Slingerz FC which represent a flagrant breach of the GFF constitution.
Unfortunately, players’ experiences and incomes have been sacrificed due to the political contrived machinations by Mr. Urling and a few club and association executives. One would imagine that the errant actions of the clubs’ leaders and dormant GFA during Mr. Hicken’s tenure would attract the ire of Mr. Urling since he has football’s best interest at heart. I suppose however that he, just as the “leaders” hoping their politically contrived instability intentions result in majority representation in the GFF Congress, and access to resources, power and privileges, are drinking from the same soup bowl. More to follow.
Mike Archer

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