Shabazz stays locked up in Miami

Trinidad and Tobago assistant football coach Jamaal Shabazz is still in a Miami, US jail and being interrogated by officers of the US State Department. According to FIFA vice-president Jack Warner in a telephone conversation yesterday, he was asked to provide legal counsel for Shabazz and pay all fees which he did. Shabazz was detained by State Department officers in Miami on Tuesday last week, for allegedly in possesion of a forged American passport. Warner spoke yesterday on his way to the airport, heading for Toronto, Canada, from Miami where he is at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament now underway. He is going to Canada to inspect a new stadium being erected for the Under-20 World Championship 2007. The Trinidadian FIFA vice-president said all efforts are being made to protect Shabazz’s interest. But Warner said no hearing date has been fixed for the national women’s football coach. He said the lawyers for Shabazz are to meet with the Miami Public Defender by Wednesday, after which a hearing will be arranged.