DAVID SCARLETT
PRESIDENT of the Unified Football Coaches of TT (UFCTT) Jefferson George has expressed his disagreement with the TT Football Association (TTFA) Safeguarding Unit's decision on March 15 to ban Presentation College (San Fernando) and TT U-17 coach Shawn Cooper from coaching minors.
Cooper, a full-time youth football coach, is now unable to engage in his profession indefinitely.
According to TTFA’s Safeguarding Unit head Gary St Rose, Cooper breached Section III, Article 29 of the TTFA Safeguarding Policy, which states: “Where a person and/or organisation is being investigated for abuse, a breach of the Safeguarding policy, or for a criminal offence, the TTFA shall impose conditions on that person’s or organisation’s license to work with children, youth players and vulnerable groups.
“Persons or organisations found in breach of the conditions imposed on their license, shall be suspended from all football related activity until such time as all their disciplinary matters have been concluded.”
In an interview with Newsday on March 18, George deemed the Safeguarding Unit's decision unfair.
“The situation was brought to our attention over the weekend. The UFCTT was put off by the fact that the coach is being tried in the court of public opinion,” George said.
“The coach has not yet given his statement. We find it highly irregular that the decision was made to ban him (without hearing his side). I made inquiries to the (TTFA) president (Keiron Edwards) and head of Safeguarding Mr St Rose, and the feedback was that there is a process that they are following. Our concerns still remain.”
[caption id="attachment_1144903" align="alignnone" width="462"] Unified Football Coaches of TT head Jefferson George -[/caption]
He added, “It is unfair to the coach as he is being denied work and the opportunity to earn a living, without being given the chance to clear his name...
“These allegations bring disrepute to a coach who has been in youth football for over two decades with a spotless career,” he said.
George and the UFCTT made suggestions to the TTFA and the Safeguarding Unit regarding a system where a coach is given an opportunity to speak before any decision is made to restrict or ban them.
As things stand, coaches are unsure about the procedure for instances where there are charges or allegations against them, and the UFCTT is urging the Safeguarding Unit to implement such.
According to George, “There needs to be some sort of standardised procedure so coaches will know what to do in situations like this.
“A situation must not exist where somebody can lay a charge against a coach because he raised his voice and they felt intimidated. That is not very objective.
"(For example), I have a very loud voice and somebody may deem that it affects their mental well-being. That can’t be the case.
“We need to have a standard where coaches can understand what parameters they can operate within when dealing with non-physical situations and accusations of psychological abuse. What is the threshol
