Absent National Football Team Players May Face Sanctions

Earlier today, we caught up with Sergio Chuc, President of the Football Federation of Belize, to discuss the players who chose to sit out Friday night’s game against Costa Rica. Chuc revealed that only three players—Jordy Polanco, Moises Hernandez, and Charles Tillett—decided to abandon the match. Their fate now lies in the hands of the F.F.B., which could impose hefty fines or suspend them from their club teams for several games. And what about the compensation controversy? Chuc confirmed that the federation pays each player $100 a day for training. Here’s more from Chuc.

 

On the Phone: Sergio Chuc, President, F.F.B.

“I think it has been blown out of proportion. There are actually three players as I am understanding that have chose to sit out, Jordy Polanco, Moises Hernandez and Charles Tillet those are the players that have been sitting out. The other players were asked not to come back to camp by the coach. I believe there is a great misunderstanding in the compensation that was cut. We have been traditionally paying them a hundred dollars per day when they come into camp. That is doubled when they travel. This time around the manager of the team decided to break down the payment and tell them you will get your hundred dollars per day if you do your two sessions, because the training are two sessions, one in the morning at six to eight and the other at four to six. What would happen is that some of the players would only come for the afternoon session or some players would come for the morning session and sit out the afternoon session.”

 

Reporter

“What about guys like Woodrow West and Michael Salazar?”

 

On the Phone: Sergio Chuc

“They have not been called up to team. Michael Salazar was not called up to the team, that is the coach discretion.  Woodrow West was called up the last minute, because we were having issues with out number one goal keeper Charles Tillett.  He was called into camp and showed up the first day and after the training he sat down with the coach and made several demands and the coach said don’t come back because you are not our first goal keeper and you are not in position to making demands and we prepare playing with out young goal keeper than to have a forty-year-old goal keeper making demands on the federation.”