“Extremely unfair”! Arbitration panel blasts SSFL’s MMPHS, Moruga rulings

The Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) executive committee received a further setback to its efforts to conclude the 2023 season today, after a scathing decision from its own arbitration body regarding the school registration process in general and the fate of the Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School (MMPHS) and Moruga Secondary in particular.

SSFL president Merere Gonzales said prior that fixtures for the SSFL Big Five competition would be released immediately after the Arbitration Panel’s ruling on protests by MMPHS and Moruga Secondary, who were stripped of their zonal titles and denied the chance to compete for a place in the 2024 Premier Division competition—due to player registration errors.

The 2023 Big Five competition, initially rostered to kick off on 27 October 2023, was tentatively scheduled for mid-January. But kickoff would be further delayed if the Arbitration Committee has its way.

If Moruga and MMPHS were shoddy in their player registrations, the behaviour of the relevant SSFL committees, according to the Arbitration Committee, was even worse.

“[…] Evidently, schools have no official knowledge whether their registration is valid / invalid before the season/match,” the Arbitration Committee found, “and schools only know of an invalid registration, at some point during or after the season, when a protest is lodged.

“This is extremely unfair to the schools and has the potential to undermine the efforts of the SSFL to continue to provide its stakeholders with a reputable co-curricular sporting opportunity.

“[…] Recommendation is hereby made for an independent disciplinary committee to be established to review the processes of the credential committee on the 2023 registration of Miracle Ministries High [and] Moruga Secondary.”

The Arbitration Committee is chaired by former SSFL president Anthony Creed and includes Theophilus Trim and Justin Latapy-George.

MMPHS head coach Kern Cupid declined comment on the ruling while Wired868 failed to reach Gonzales for a response.

The Arbitration Committee’s ruling is not binding on any party. But it would be controversial if the SSFL opted to ignore the findings of its own panel.

The implication on the 2023 Big Five competition, which is the gateway for qualification to the 2024 Premier Division, is unmistakable. (The top three finishers in the Big Five earn automatic promotion to the Premier Division.)

MMPHS won the 2023 Central Zone Championship and should have kicked off their Big Five campaign against North Zone winners Blanchisseuse Secondary at the Couva Recreation Ground on 27 October 2023.

However, MMPHS’ dreams were short-lived as the SSFL Credentials Committee belatedly—at the end of their entire league season—discovered that 11 of their players were not properly registered, since their forms were submitted as an image rather than a document.

The Credentials Committee, chaired by SSFL general secretary Azaad Khan and inclusive of SSFL assistant secretary – administration Gerald Elliot and inclusive of North Zone secretary Roger Martin, forwarded the matter to the Disciplinary Committee.

The Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Essiel Seecharan and also comprising Elliot and Martin, implemented a points deduction that decisively adjusted the Central Zone standings, with Carapichaima East Secondary finishing top instead.

The Appeals Committee, which comprised Derek West (chair), Rudolph Hope and Forbes Persaud, upheld that ruling—as it found “no new evidence presented at meeting”.

MMPHS, in their appeal, criticised Elliot’s joint-role as a national executive and disciplinary committee member. However, before the Arbitration Committee, the school instead pointed to Elliot’s position on the Credentials Committee.

The Creed-led panel appeared aghast.

“The Disciplinary Report Committee comprised Gerald Elliot and Roger Martin who are members of the Credential Committee, which can be construed as a conflict of interest,” stated the Arbitration Committee. “[…] The validity of the Disciplinary Committee’s Report (notably, the independence of this committee) due to its composition with members from the Credential Committee also functioning on the Disciplinary Committee.

“This situation can be viewed as a conflict of interest and makes the Disciplinary Committee’s report invalid.”

Further, the Arbitration Committee noted that the SSFL’s registration process was improperly one-sided, with schools required to submit documentation but no obligation from their recipients to provide feedback.

And the SSFL Credentials Committee, for which Elliot receives a salary, did not sufficiently support schools.

“The SSFL Constitution indicates the time for a valid registration as seventy-two hours before a match, but does not indicate feedback to schools for a valid registration—whether electronically or in writing,” stated the Arbitration report.

“Notably, registration using the online platform appears to have been a challenge without SSFL or help desk support to ensure that any challenges experienced were rectified / addressed in the shortest possible timeframe by both the SSFL and registering school.”

And the Arbitration Committee questioned how the SSFL could provide player IDs to a school and then turn around to find the same team to be improperly registered.

“Miracle Ministries High [and] Moruga Secondary reported receipt of Players’ IDs,” read the findings, “which may constitute valid registration.”

Moruga Secondary submitted a registration document for 26 of their players without a stamp or signature from their principal Michael Sutherland. After the conclusion of the South Zone Championship season, which Moruga won undefeated, the aforementioned players were declared to be improperly registered.

The resulting points deduction left Moruga on zero points. And instead of fighting for promotion to the Premier Division, they were relegated to the Senior Division—third and lowest tier of the SSFL.

All Moruga’s players received SSFL IDs though, which are presented at the end of a successful registration.

Having received player IDs, would the school not feel confident that its team was properly registered? How could they address a problem they did not know existed?

The Creed-led committee described the scenario as “extremely unfair” and urged the SSFL to revisit its registration process.

“The Credential Committee needs to take a more proactive role validating schools’ registration,” stated the arbiters. “This needs to occur in a manner that allows matches to start / end as the fixtures dictate…

“It may be beneficial […] to establish a help desk for the online registration process and communicate this information to stakeholders, inclusive of a deadline(s) to access the support of this desk.”

Creed, Trim and Latapy-George would like the SSFL to send the ongoing scandal back to an “independent” disciplinary committee—thereby potentially restarting the entire legal exercise.

Meanwhile, St Augustine Secondary (East Zone), Signal Hill Secondary (Tobago) and Blanchisseuse (North) wait for confirmed fixtures that will allow their respective teams to properly prepare for an important competition.

And Ste Madeleine and Carapichaima East are not quite sure whether their respective 2023/04 seasons are over or not.

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Lasana Liburd

Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.