An email letter forwarded yesterday from the office of the BPFL, informed FC Belize owner/manager Lionel Welch that his protest of the November 18 game against Ilagulei of Dangriga had been turned down, and “The result of the game remains the same: Ilagulei 2 – FC Belize 1.”
BPFL Commissioner Jaime “Maito” Perdomo had previously indicated to us that the matter would be dealt with by the FFB on their return from Panama, but that had apparently changed, as Perdomo’s email notes that, “the BPFL did not send out any memos informing teams which players can and cannot play. That email was sent by Mr. David Jones (FFB Vice President) and therefore was not valid as all official information about the BPFL tournament comes directly from the League’s office.” The BPFL now says that “The subsequent match that Kareem Haylock should have been suspended from was game #1 of the semi-finals between FC Belize and Ilagulei. He played in that game but no protest was filed. In light of that information the BPFL allowed Kareem Haylock to play the game on November 18, 2008.”
Mr. Welch confirmed by phone this morning that he had forwarded an appeal letter to the FFB. He expected the appeal to be heard at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon at the FFB headquarters in Belmopan. A practicing attorney, Mr. Welch maintained that he is not a sore loser, and will not have any problems with the league’s decision, once proper procedures are followed.
But at 1:45 p.m. this afternoon, a release from the BPFL office advised that “the protest that was lodged by FC Belize team has been resolved and the first game of the finals will be held this weekend on Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. at the Carl Ramos Stadium in Dangriga. The two teams advancing to the finals are Nizhee Corozal and Ilagulei.”
We were unable to make contact with FC Belize, but we did get through to BPFL Commissioner Maito Perdomo at 7:00 p.m. tonight, and he said that the FFB had refused to hear FC Belize’s appeal since it was not considered a “disciplinary matter”. He confirmed that, indeed, the BPFL is going ahead with its championship series, beginning this Sunday in Dangriga with Ilagulei hosting Nizhee Corozal.
It is possible that this may not be the end of this controversy, as apparently there exists some confusion between the jurisdiction of the BPFL and the FFB; and this may have something to do with the terms of the BPFL’s re-affiliation with the FFB a few years ago following a two-three year standoff.