The Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) has been urged to conclude the ongoing investigation into the arrest and subsequent charging of two football officials earlier this year in Jamaica or face having the matter taken “outside of Antigua”.
This is according to national head coach Derrick Edwards, one of the two men arrested on drug charges in March, who said the matter has gone on long enough without a conclusion.
“They weren’t the ones who slept in the dirty cells, they weren’t the ones who were eating the salt porridge and two slices of dry bread in the mornings, it was myself and Danny and I am going to fight this thing with Danny all the way. If we have to go outside of Antigua to get it done we will get it done,” he said.
The Jamaica court dismissed the charges against the two men in June, citing insufficient evidence.
“We know the steps we are going to have to take if we don’t get this thing resolved. We will give them at least a week to come up with a finding and if they don’t then we will have to do what we have to do and that is a week from today [November 26],” he added.
Pressured as to where or whom outside of Antigua the matter will be taken, Edwards refused to comment, stating that the association made a commitment to have the matter settled within a specific timeframe.
“He [Everton Gonsalves] gave us his word when we came in [from Jamaica] on the 18th of June [2018] that the investigation would take at least two weeks. I heard him on another interview talking about the investigation and that they have two other people to interview and that one is probably out of the country and one is probably still here,” the coach said.
“It’s going on six or seven months now since we’ve been back from Jamaica and it seems as if they are having this thing to die a natural death but at the end of the day we may not have gone to college, we may not have degrees but we surely have commonsense and can read between the lines as to what’s going on and I am very hurt about the situation,” he said.
Senior team equipment manager, Danny Benjamin, said the slow pace of the
investigation is discouraging.
“I am totally frustrated and disappointed in the way the ABFA is running the investigation and I have to call a spade a space because they are doing it like they don’t care about nothing. I have had enough of that and it’s just that I have to take a stance and no one is going to take me for a fool because they are pushing the bucket up the well now and this cannot go on anymore,” he said.
Recently, President of the ABFA Everton Gonsalves, said there were two outstanding interviews after which, a finding would be produced. One of the individuals left to be question is however said to be out of country.
FA Warned Of Possible Outside Pressure Over Jamaica Investigation
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -