Trinidad World Cup players await next court action against Warner
PORT OF SPAIN: A High Court judge is expected to decide on Friday what legal action to take over the lack of response from Jack Warner to an order that he provide “all relevant documents” regarding finances concerning Trinidad & Tobago’s appearance at the 2006 World Cup finals.
The long-running dispute between 14 of the squad members and the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation and its former consultant has spread tentacles involving the administration of CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union.
Warner, formerly president of both bodies and a vice-president of world federation, walked away from all football last year ahead of a FIFA Ethics Committee hearing into bribery allegations. Warner is currently Trinidad’s Minister of Works and has been an occasional stand-in Prime Minister.
In an 11-page ruling earlier this year, Justice Devindra Rampersad said the TTFF should direct Warner in writing “to file an account of all monies received by him” as the TTFF’s agent “in relation to all income, donations, gifts, grants or benefits whatsoever and all expenditure therefrom arising out of the World Cup 2006”. When the matter came up in court last Friday, Warner was not present and no documents were handed to the court.
Brent Sancho, spokesman for the players who have already co-operated in a bailiffs’ raid on the TTFF offices, said: “The judge has given the TTFF an ultimatum that on Friday they will re-appear in court at 9.30 am and discuss what legal proceedings they are going to take against Mr Warner.”
The players are seeking an account of all the monies received by Warner and/or former Federation president Oliver Camps and general secretary Richard Groden “individually or together, legally or beneficially and/or by to an agent acting on their behalf or any other party under the effective ownership or control of or serving as agents” of the TTFF, Camps, Warner or Groden.
Sancho, who thought the judge had hinted at declaring the TTFF in contempt of court, hoped that “commonsense would prevail.”
A letter from Warner claimed he had returned to the TTFF all documents in his possession. This has been denied by Camps.
