Corneal condemns Jabloteh snub

FORMER Trinidad and Tobago footballer and coach Alvin Corneal condemned the stance taken by defending T&T Pro League champs CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh to withdraw their players from national team training on Monday and Thursday last. “This is disturbing for two reasons,” said Corneal, a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) Technical Advisory Committee, “the first being that the national team gets preference over all local activity, especially when it comes to World Cup qualifying matches.”

“The second is that it is the judgment of the TTFF to determine the arrangements pertaining to the national team players and not the professional clubs, which are under the umbrella of the TTFF,” he added. Corneal stressed that the Federation will have to take a firmer stance with the respective clubs to avoid any re-occurrence of such controversies. “We do not have sufficient (footballers) to lose the talent which is available,” he said. Also commenting on the matter was TTFF special advisor and CONCACAF president Jack Austin Warner.

“I never imagined that I would have ever lived to see the day that a club be accused of behaving in this way,” said the FIFA vice-president who, like Corneal, stated that the TTFF should outline their positions clearly to the clubs regarding the release of players for national team duty. “Football, more so national football is the business of all,” Warner added. TT coach Bertille St Clair will resume training tomorrow at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo with the full compliment of local and overseas-based professionals. The foreign-based pros are expected to arrive today while the team leaves on Thursday for the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against St Kitts. The encounter against St Kitts will be played at Warner Park, Basseterre next Saturday.