SHOULD SOMEONE GET the boot for placing Barbados’ World Cup advance in jeopardy?
If not the red card, surely a yellow for making a goof which seems unacceptable based on our antecedents?
The error that allowed winger Hadan Holligan to play in the return match against Aruba, when he shouldn’t have because of two yellow cards in previous games, has put our campaign in limbo and that will come with sleepless nights for all as we wait for the matter to be settled by FIFA’s disciplinary committee next month.
The draw for the next round will be made by the end of July, so we shouldn’t have to wait that long for a decision to be made.
Should it go against us, it would be a very hard blow to the efforts of all concerned so far.
This is the first time in my 39 years of covering local football that a national team has had as many as four warm-up matches in preparation for a major competition.
If we are objective, we can agree that has paid some dividends because the team, while still not perfect in terms of their execution, have shown plenty of grit and determination, particularly on the road.
Hammered them
After losing surprisingly 1-0 to United States Virgin Islands in our opening game at the National Stadium, we went into their backyard and hammered them 4-0. In the first leg against the skilful Aruba we defeated them 2-0 away from home and, in the now disputed second leg, we were able to sustain plenty of pressure to get a 1-0 victory at home.
So the lads have shown character and resilience in adverse conditions under the tutelage of technical director/head coach Marcos Falopa and his support staff.
The support of the fans cannot be underestimated either because they have played a vital 12th man role as shown by their big turnout at the Usain Bolt Complex and vocal urgings for the team to hold their ground.
And we also have to take into account the finance involved in staging the warm-up games and the qualifiers. Even with FIFA giving money to help teams at the preliminary stage, we must bear in mind we also have other national teams to look out for, so the association still has to be prudent in its spending.
Above all, Barbadians are known for great administrative and organisational skills at all levels, so the faux pas with the Holligan saga, while it took us by surprise, can do some damage to our football credibility, which has been unblemished, if memory serves right up to now, in matters of this nature.
Subsequently, our position is like a team depending on some degree of pity and patronage, which kicks some of the pride out of the industry all comers have put in to date.
However, it is what it is and we have to hope for the best.
Jamaica, for instance, found themselves in a similar position in the qualifiers of the 1998 World Cup but escaped with just a fine. Fate might be just as kind to us.
I admire the position taken by president of the Barbados Football Association, Randy Harris, who took responsibility for the error and actually offered to resign, but his offer was rejected by the executive of the association.
It isn’t the Caribbean thing to do in those circumstances, even if at times the issue points firmly to the person at the top.
Paper trail
In this particular case, the Holligan paper trail resided with others entrusted with the job, not the president, but he is cognisant that all roads lead to him.
What I found disturbing in the entire scenario was that an alleged resignation letter written by Harris was circulated on social media and he confirmed that he had no knowledge of it.
The other critical point is why manager Adrian Donovan wasn’t cleared to travel with the team by his employers despite a request from the association in keeping with protocol when people are travelling on national duty?
Donovan is known to be a very efficient administrator and perhaps things may have been different if he had been granted leave, which is usually a formality in ordinary circumstances.
Perhaps this issue isn’t so ordinary after all and we may have to pay a hefty price coming out of what might still prove to be an extraordinary development as far as local football is concerned.
• Andi Thornhill is an experienced, award-winning sports journalist. Email: [email protected]
