Suspended Soca Warriors ‘freed’

THE 19 suspended players who went on strike prior to an international friendly against Finland a month ago have been given a reprieve.

After much deliberation at a meeting on Sunday, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation’s Executive Committee unanimously decided that the investigative commmittee’s job was incomplete. The executive deemed the committee’s report inconclusive and found the investigation did not go far enough since all players were not individually interviewed. They also found national team manager George Joseph, who was present at all meetings of the investigators, was never interviewed, neither was technical director Hannibal Najjar, nor several others considered to be relevant to the investigation. As a result, the TTFF have advised Najjar and Joseph that they are free to call up the 19. But Najjar said he could not call any of the suspended players for the forthcoming Gold Cup qualifiers since they had not trained for some time. Meanwhile, terms and conditions of service for players called to the national squads were discussed and approved but were not disclosed.