There is a dirty little secret in the world of soccer, one which has the potential to limit – or suspend – the basic human rights of anyone who enters.
From the halls of FIFA right down to your neighbourhood rec centre, soccer players, coaches and administrators – amateur, professional, national – run the risk of suspension or outright banishment if they ask the courts to rule on a soccer-related injustice.
FIFA, you see, is a bit itchy on the subject of the law. Entire books have already been written about corruption in the global game, so I’m going to bring matters closer to home. And once again, the focus of the underlying craziness of Canadian soccer administration is …
Alberta.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
If you don’t already know the story:
- Mario Charpentier, president of the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association, tried unsuccessfully for years to become president of the Alberta Soccer Association.
- On his most recent attempt, he lost to a reform-minded air-traffic controller named Chris Billings.
- Charpentier soon accused Billings of numerous transgressions (none yet proven), suspending and deposing him in a palace coup that plunged the entire provincial soccer set-up into administrative chaos and paralysis.
Now, according to FIFA, the CSA, the ASA and numerous informed commentators (reformers included), Billings should have appealed his suspension, first to the ASA, then to the CSA.
Here’s what Billings saw when he looked up:
- The ASA was the same bunch who’d hoofed him in the first place.
- The CSA didn’t look much friendlier either. Billings has repeatedly accused CSA director-at-large Mike Traficante of playing a key role in his ouster (which hasn’t been proven). CSA president Dominic Maestracci has also tried to intervene on Charpentier’s behalf (which Onward! has already documented).
Billings went to court. The court forced the ASA to hold a special general meeting. Not only were Charpentier and his backers shown the door, Alberta immediately passed reform legislation barring any board member of any regional soccer association from ever serving on the provincial board.
But that ain’t the end of it, kids.
The Canadian Soccer Association will apparently hold a special meeting this Friday, to discuss how to deal with what Alberta wants to do next.
Apparently, at its upcoming AGM on April 16, Alberta will put forward a resolution to throw out the part of its constitution that forbids members from taking their grievances to court.
That, you see, could trigger some heavy consequences from FIFA. On the eve of both the women’s World Cup and men’s Gold Cup, could Canada actually be suspended from international play?
We don’t know. And that is starting to cause some concern within the CSA.
Two significant issues immediately come into play.
1) CSA reform:
If pro-reformers find a backroom way to get the full CSA reform package (the one that got shot down by the last surviving members of the Charpentier coup) back on the agenda, they need a "yes" vote from Alberta to get it passed. If Alberta is suspended, would they even be allowed to vote?
Let me make it even nuttier for you. If Alberta can’t vote, they can’t vote “no” either. Would that give the pro-reformers enough support to send all the CSA amateurs packing a year early?
2) The future of the ASA:
(You’ll really need your tin-foil hats for this one, but crazier things have already happened.)
A rumour rustling through the tall grass of pronghorn country says the Edmonton and Calgary Minor Soccer Associations – prime backers of the Charpentier coup – will support ending the court ban in a deliberate attempt to get the ASA suspended. That might (who knows by now?) open the door for them to form a new provincial soccer association, free of all those pesky rules and reforms that got them turfed from power in the first place.
That’s a lot to sift through, and for now, that’s all we’ve got. There’s certainly some truth here, but how much – and what – still isn’t completely clear.
If nothing else, though, it’s important to understand the level of fear and confusion that’s out there this morning.
And let’s not forget, either, that some pretty basic and fundamental human rights are ultimately at stake.
More soon.
Onward!