Shiva Boys Hindu College will know whether its midfielder Kierron Mason and team, will be given an opportunity at winning the Premier Division of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) by lunchtime today, Laurence Seepersad, Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee said yesterday.
The school has been the subject of protest regarding an illegal transfer of Mason from T&T Super League club Marabella Family Crisis Centre in September, which is said to be outside the stipulated date of August 31 to be eligible to play in the SSFL. Though the matter had been public knowledge, St Anthony’s College, known popularly as ‘The Tigers’ lodged an official appeal on Tuesday and were lucky to have the issue addressed on that same day.
But Seepersad said the matter was still pending, as committee members await the transfer certificate of the player from the club. The certificate is expected to clearly spell out the time the transfer took place, as well as shed light on the matter relative to the law regarding transfers of players from clubs, which according to Seepersad states that players involved in any T&T Football Association-affiliated tournament, must have played his last game by August 31 or supply a transfer certificate from the club to the school.
Mason was seen playing for the Marabella FCC on September 2, but stopped, said Sheldon Maharaj, the Shiva Boys manager yesterday. He is contending that when Mason played for his club, he was not a member of any school, which should render the matter null and void.
Maharaj said he was shocked at circulating rumours that the committee had ruled in favour of St Anthony’s College, mere hours after the protest was lodged. “I was not sanctioned to any meeting of the SSFL, neither did we receive any letter from the SSFL informing us that a decision was reached, “ Maharaj said.
His opposite number Maurice Inniss, the St Anthony’s College manager and Principal said they too did not receive any correspondence that a decision was made yesterday. He made it clear also that the school did not receive any documentation on the matter.
A top SSFL executive who spoke on conditions of anonymity told Guardian Media Sports that the law is quite clear regarding the transfer of players and therefore it should not be a difficult decision to make once all the paper work has been examined.
Earlier in the season, Mason was also the subject of a transfer issue which Naparima College won after only the first game.
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