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Moruga Secondary and Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School (MMPHS) have been reinstated as South and Central Zone Championship Division winners respectively, after the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Arbitration Committee upgraded their ruling on registration disputes involving both schools.
In a brief but meaningful release, the Arbitration Committee declared that the “decisions by the Disciplinary and Appeals Committee are hereby quashed per the findings of the Arbitration Committee’s report dated 4 January 2024”.
As such, the points earned by the Moruga and MMPHS were restored—with the exception of a one match penalty for the southern team for late registration of a player, Veron Gomez.
The decision, which was made today, saw both schools reclaim their mantle as zonal winners. And it ended a controversial three-month standoff between the two schools and the governing school football body.
Just as important, it cleared the way for Moruga and MMPHS to participate in the 2023 SSFL Big Five competition, which will decide the three schools promoted to the 2024 SSFL Premier Division competition.
The Appeals Committee was chaired by former SSFL president Anthony Creed and included Justin Latapy-George and Theophilus Trim.
(Courtesy SPORTT)
Moruga players were already in a maxi en route to St Augustine Secondary, on Friday 27 October, when they received word that the game was postponed due to a protest. MMPHS were due to host Blanchisseuse Secondary at the Couva Recreation Ground on that same day.
What followed was an extraordinary case as Moruga and MMPHS learned that, having already won zonal honours, they stood to lose everything due to registration issues that preceded the entire season.
Moruga, it transpired, submitted player registration forms without a signature from principal Michael Sutherland and the school’s stamp. MMPHS send in their paperwork as a picture rather than a document.
The Credentials Committee, which included SSFL assistant secretary – administration and South Zone secretary Gerald Elliot and zonal secretaries Roger Martin and Laurence Seepersad, reported the issue to the Disciplinary Committee.
Elliot is also a member of the SSFL Credentials Committee.
The Disciplinary Committee, which comprised Elliot and Martin in MMPHS’ case and Martin and Seepersad for Moruga, ruled against the two schools.
MMPHS were stripped of points for their first four games of the season, which saw them drop to fourth in the adjusted standings. And Moruga ended up with zero points and were set for relegation to the Senior Division.
The titles were given to Carapichaima East Secondary and Ste Madeleine Secondary respectively.
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The Appeals Committee upheld the decision of the Disciplinary Committee.
However, it is worth noting that Moruga and MMPHS put forward quite different cases to the Appeals and Arbitration Committees.
Before the Appeals Committee, which included Derek West, Rudolph Thomas and Forbes Persaud, Miracle Ministries argued that the Disciplinary Committee ruling was flawed due to Elliot’s dual role as member and SSFL assistant secretary – administration. Their argument did not impress.
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However, at the level of arbitration, the schools changed tact and noted that Elliot, along with Seepersad and Martin, were key members of the Credential Committee, which ought to have identified their registration issues—but instead, as part of the Disciplinary Committee, saw to it that Moruga and MMPHS alone paid the maximum penalty for the errors.
The Creed-led committee described the sanctions on the two schools as “extremely unfair”.
“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.
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“[…] 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.”
The Arbitration Committee recommended that the SSFL send the matter back to an “independent” disciplinary committee. Before, belatedly, realising that their members had the power to usurp the prior bodies according to article 17.1 of the SSFL’s constitution, which reads:
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“Any dispute arising between the League and any affiliated school or members of schools, it is a condition precedent that such dispute be referred to arbitration… The decision of the Arbitrator shall be binding on all parties to the dispute.”
And so, Creed, Latapy-George and Trim brought the case to an end.
MMPHS had all their points restored. Moruga lost three points for using Gomez against Point Fortin East Secondary on Friday 23 September, less than 72 hours before he was registered.
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It saw Moruga’s lead atop the South Championship table fall from six to three points. But they retained their title.
There remains a recommendation from the Arbitration Committee for the SSFL, now led by president Merere Gonzales and general secretary Azaad Khan, to get its house in order.
“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…
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“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.”
Next up, is the SSFL Big Five competition. Three schools from Signal Hill Secondary, Blanchisseuse, MMPHS, St Augustine and Moruga will have the chance to compete at the highest level of the local school game—with matches broadcast across the Caribbean and North America.
For Moruga and MMPHS, they would be relieved to still have a chance.
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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.
Thankfully the right decision was arrived at, and I expect Moruga, Miracle Ministries to be in the Premier League along with Signal Hill next season.
And so, in the end, justice prevails–as far as the boys are concerned.
That should not, however, be the end of the matter. If Elliot offers himself for office next season, voters need to be reminded of the nature of his involvement here. Even if we get it nowhere else, in the schools’ leagues, we need exemplars and role models, not self-serving individuals who are unwilling to take full responsibility for their mistakes.