The Fédération Internationale Football Association (FIFA) has suspended Trinidad and Tobago from international football after its football association (TTFA) pursued a dispute through the country’s High Court in contravention of the world governing body’s statutes.
The world football governing body explained that the suspension became imperative after it was established the country’s move was against the law governing international football.
It would be recalled that the TTFA and FIFA have been at loggerheads since March after the world governing body dissolved the executive of the cash-strapped association.
Upon dissolving the executives, FIFA said it installed a normalisation committee after they concluded the TTFA’s former leadership had “engaged in various acts of serious mismanagement”.
Not satisfied with FIFA decision, the TTFA president, William Wallace, opposed the governing body and headed to court to contest the dissolution, a development said to have contravened statutes.
Through a statement released on its website on Friday, FIFA said that Wallace action led to the country’s suspension from international football until such times the football body review its decision.
“The suspension was prompted by the former leadership of the TTFA lodging a claim before a local court in Trinidad and Tobago in order to contest the decision of the FIFA Council to appoint a normalisation committee for the TTFA.
“This course of action was in direct breach of article 59 of the FIFA Statutes, which expressly prohibits recourse to ordinary courts unless specifically provided for in the FIFA regulations,” the statement said.
FIFA said that they gave a Sept. 16 deadline to withdraw the case which was extended to Sept. 23 before the decision was taken to suspend the TTFA.
“This suspension will only be lifted when the TTFA fully complies with its obligations as a member of FIFA, including recognising the legitimacy of the appointed normalisation committee and bringing its own statutes into line with the FIFA Statutes,” it added.
Trinidad and Tobago are scheduled to play Guyana in their next competitive fixture on Oct. 8, the start of their qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
