BFA president promises to look into controversy

Barbados Football Association (BFA) president Randy Harris says he has no knowledge of several allegations published in the England-based Guardian newspaper concerning his association’s former technical director Ahmed Mohammed while employed in Barbados.

Harris who also serves as president of the Caribbean Football Union and Vice-President of CONCACAF is currently out of the country and said he would have to investigate the matter on his return. The acting president Captain Al Walcott could not be reached for comment.

“I don’t know of these things that I am hearing about pertaining to the BFA. So, I would have to deal with it on my return and see if I could find out if any of these issues are true because they are very serious and no report has been made to the BFA about them,” Harris told Barbados TODAY.

Football’s governing body, FIFA, has also indicated it will be investigating the allegations.

Mohammed is currently employed as director of football in St Kitts and Nevis. However, president of that country’s football association, Atiba Harris, has come under fire over the employment of the former Somalian footballer. However, the Kittitian official said his association had done its due diligence and that Mohammed had arrived in the island with positive recommendations from the BFA.

“. . . We had positive feedback, positive recommendations and we decided to move forward. . . [Mohamed] actually resigned for family reasons. Ahmed is a great guy, a great technical person who is going to do wonders for our country within football. I have every confidence in him,” Atiba Harris said while appearing as a guest on Freedom FM in his homeland on Monday.

Barbados TODAY was reliably informed that local clubs will be meeting to discuss this latest development and on the agenda will be whether to have an independent investigator look into the allegations made by the international press. Former BFA president George LasCaris shared deep concerns over the reports and developments emanating from England and St Kitts. President of the Brittons Hill Football Club Fabian Wharton said he was extremely taken aback by the international reports.

(morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb)