By Neto Baptiste
National footballer and political hopeful, Tevaughn “Peter Redz” Harriett, said there has been no progress regarding promised assistance from either the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) or the government as his quest to raise the near EC$200,000 needed for knee surgery in Spain has progressed slowly.
Harriett was injured while on national duty in 2018 and has not played since injuring his right knee during a training session with the senior men’s national team.
He said that since his legal representative wrote to the ABFA on May 10 and received a reply two days later indicating that acting President, Gwen Salmon, was off-island, he has not heard from the sport’s national governing body since then.
“Prior to that letter being sent by my representative, I had a meeting six weeks ago with the ABFA’s General Secretary, Mr Rohan Hector and the acting president, Miss Gwen Salmon and in that meeting, I was told that I would receive financial assistance in a week or less. From that meeting six weeks ago to my lawyer sending the ABFA a letter, I have not received any word from the ABFA regarding my situation. My team and my legal representative are of the opinion that the best course of action because of the stonewalling by the ABFA and their inaction, is to take the matter to court,” he said.
To date, Harriet has successfully undergone two surgeries but requires a third and final operation, a meniscus replacement procedure that, once successful, could see the striker returning to action on the field.
The player said he is also yet to receive any form of support from government.
“To date, via fundraisers, and donations, my team and I have raised $15,088.11. The government of Antigua and Barbuda has not assisted in any way possible since the Prime Minister [Gaston Browne], made his statement about the government offering me assistance about seven weeks ago. I also want to stress and reiterate that I want to have no fight with any entity. However, I am facing a life and death situation where I could become wheelchair-bound so it is of utmost importance that I receive the funds needed to get this critical knee surgery completed,” the striker said.
A total of EC$182,082.64 is now required to cover all expenses associated with the surgery.
In a recent video dramatisation showing Harriett going from playing with a football to sitting in a wheelchair, the player appealed to the general public for assistance, reminding that donations can be made to his Antigua Commercial Bank (ACB) account, number 108989991.
The ABFA has declined to comment on the issue.
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