Gordon Derrick Fails Integrity Check

ST JOHN’S, Antigua,  – FIFA says Gordon Derrick, the general secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, has failed an integrity check and won’t be allowed to run for president of CONCACAF, the sport’s regional governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee, said in a statement Tuesday that Derrick had been disqualified but added that “for privacy reasons, we are not in a position to go into further details.” Derrick also is president of the Caribbean Football Union.

In November 2011, FIFA’s ethics committee gave Derrick a reprimand and fined him 300 Swiss francs (then $328) as part of sanctions announced for “apparent violations” of its ethics code that occurred at a CFU meeting on May 10-11 that year. Soccer officials were alleged to have been offered or to have received $40,000 cash payments there during Mohamed bin Hammam’s campaign for FIFA president. FIFA did not specify the violation Derrick committed.

CONCACAF’s president is automatically a FIFA vice president and member of FIFA’s ruling executive committee, which is being renamed the FIFA council.

The disqualification leaves Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani and Bermuda Football Association president Larry Mussenden as the only candidates.

Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, CONCACAF’s president from 1983-2011, was indicated by a U.S. grand jury in New York City last May on charges of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering. He is fighting extradition.

He was succeeded by Jeffrey Webb, who headed CONCACAF from 2012 until he was indicted last May. He pleaded guilty Nov. 23 to racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, and agreed to forfeit more than $6.7 million.

Alfredo Hawit of Honduras replaced Webb and was indicted in November. He pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and one count each of racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

CONCACAF said Luis Hernandez of Cuba and John Krishnadath were running for FIFA council member from the Caribbean, and Pedro Chaluja of Panama was running unopposed for council member for the Caribbean.

Sonia Bien-Aime of Turks and Caicos, elected as the Caribbean’s member of the FIFA executive committee last July, is running for CONCACAF’s female member of the new council against Joanne Salazar of Trinidad and Tobago. (AP)