St Benedict’s appeal SSFL decision, insist Garcia was active student before he attended class

St Benedict’s College have appealed the decision of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) to strip them of 12 points—and, effectively, the 2024 Premier Division title—due to their use of an invalid player, captain Derrel Garcia, for four matches.

The appeal was lodged on Friday 3 January and Wired868 understands that there will be a hearing before the SSFL Appeals Committee on Tuesday morning.

The Appeals Committee, unlike the Disciplinary Committee, is manned by persons who are not current officials of the SSFL.

The issue centres on Garcia’s eligibility as a St Benedict’s student-athlete and, specifically, when he could be considered an active. The 17-year-old forward did not attend class at the school between 30 June 2023 and 8 October 2024.

Regardless, St Benedict’s principal Gregory Quan Kep registered Garcia before start of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Teacher Ravi Ragoolam is the team manager while Men’s National Under-20 head coach Randolph Boyce serves as head coach.

In September 2023, Garcia represented Benedict’s in the NGC SSFL Super Cup against Fatima College and their first Premier Division match against San Juan North Secondary, before he left to join a football academy in Spain.

And, the following year, the San Juan Jabloteh player featured in three Premier Division matches (against San Juan North, Fatima and St Anthony’s College) before he attended his first class for the term.

Article 16 of the SSFL Constitution states: “Before students can be accepted by the League to be registered as players to represent any team playing in the League, the following criteria must be fulfilled:

“Students must be duly registered, according to the existing rules and regulations of the Ministry of Education and on the official roll of the school presenting the team.

“These students must attend classes at that school during normal school hours.”

Although the St Benedict’s principal did not follow proper procedure—as confirmed by acting chief education officer Aaron Ramrattan—in informing the Ministry of Education about Garcia’s absence and removing him from the school’s roll, the southern school contended that his presence on the roll meant he remained a valid student there.

The SSFL Disciplinary Committee accepted that logic, which meant that Garcia’s status was preserved by an improper act from the school.

However, the Disciplinary Committee used his non-attendance at school to declare Garcia an inactive student up until 8 October. And they subsequently deducted 12 points from St Benedict’s for matches he featured in during that period.

Wired868 understands, from a school source, St Benedict’s countered that Garcia was in school at roughly 2pm on Monday 30 September as he chose subjects for fourth form.

Garcia, who was not uniformed, did not attend class on that day and did not return to school until Tuesday 8 October. However, Wired868 understands that Quan Kep wants the Appeals Committee to deem the teenager to be an active student from the first time he appeared in school—rather than when he started class.

It is likely to be a key aspect of St Benedict’s appeal, but not necessarily their only objection to the Disciplinary Committee’s ruling.

If St Benedict’s fail in their protest, Fatima will be crowned 2024 Premier Division champions.

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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.