GFF is never an organisation devoid of compelling drama

Dear Editor,

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is never an organisation devoid of compelling drama, and most of it is self-inflicted by administrators who lack leadership skills and have authoritarian instincts.

The recent imbroglio in which the nation’s most successful and well-resourced clubs refused to participate in the top elite competition, and actions subsequently taken by the GFF’s leaders — to refuse an independent arbiter permission to investigate and settle the matter — continue to perpetuate and reinforce this conviction.

As reported in most of the dailies on Sunday (April 16), one of the judicial arms (the first instance, disciplinary committee) of the GFF ruled that the executive arm was incorrect in its interpretation of the rules of the federation. Instead of responding and notifying its members, and the public, that while it does not agree with the ruling, it would respect the constitutional process and lodge a formal appeal (which is mandated within 3 days, as per the disciplinary code) to the Appeal Committee of the federation, the executive committee responded with a response of “consternation” in relation to the disciplinary committee’s findings, adumbrating that the committee has no authority to adjudicate, and went on to repeat why the executive committee’s interpretation of the rules is the correct one.

The separation of powers doctrine in democratic institutions can be a very difficult pill to swallow for most engaged in the system. Most often, executives feel that they have the solution to every problem and they are the end-all of every decision, only to be brought down to earth when the judiciary rules.  No amount of screaming and shouting on what the executive feels, or making reference to the opinions (not rulings) of external bodies — in this case FIFA and CONCACAF — will change the stark reality that the appropriate internal and constitutional body has adjudicated on the matter. The only action from the executives that will suffice is to use the constitutional process available to them, as the aggrieved clubs did, and formally appeal the decision.

Sincerely,

Clinton Urling

Former Chairman

GFF