William Wallace and the United T&T Football Association (TTFA) team of Clynt Taylor, Joseph Sam Phillip, Keith Look Loy and Anthony Harford, are facing a second lawsuit.
Within 24 hours after T&T Pro League team Cunupia FC announced that it will be suing the association, former national coach Stephan De Four who was given a two-year contract to coach the T&T women’s team back in 2019, said he has instructed his Attorneys to pursue legal action against the United TTFA for breach of contract.
This comes, only a day after the group's battle against football’s world governing body, FIFA, which was expected to end in the T&T High Court, in Port-of-Spain, yesterday. However, High Court Judge Carol Gobin reserved her decision in the case to Tuesday at 3 pm, after hearing submissions from lawyers representing Wallace and his team.
Less than a year after De Four had been given the job, TTFA president Wallace sent him a letter terminating his position as coach of the team, De Four said. At that time, Wallace had been out of the country and therefore the letter was sent via email, De Four told Guardian Media Sports.
De Four said his contract was scheduled to expire in July 2021, but a hasty move by Wallace only days after his executive assumed the leadership position on November 24, De Four said he received the letter terminating him on December 17, following which a pre-action protocol letter from his attorney, was sent to Wallace and his team.
The United TTFA never responded to the pre-action protocol letter that was sent.
De Four described the United TTFA as heartless and disrespectful, saying not once did they respond to his attorney.
“With all that was taking place with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I decided to wait until this situation blows over, so now I am ready to proceed,” said the former national women’s coach, who also assured that his contract was a good one, since it was approved by the Board of Directors of the TTFA.
He lashed out at Wallace for his lack of respect in dealing with the situation, saying the same lack of respect shown by not even responding to his attorney’s pre-action protocol letter, is the same lack of respect that is being exhibited in the way he and the United TTFA have been managing the affairs of the sport, showing no heart or concern for people who depend on the sport as a way of making a living.
The United TTFA has come under fire for its decision to challenge the appointment of a Normalisation Committee which replaced them as the managers of local football. Due to this challenge, FIFA has suspended the United TTFA for its failure to adhere to the FIFA Statutes regarding the jurisdiction for disputes.
Quizzed as to whether he wanted to receive a lump-sum payment of his wages or return to work, De Four said he can never work under Wallace and his administration again.
It is uncertain exactly when court proceedings will begin but De Four said it is all in his lawyer’s hands right now.
Attempts to reach Wallace for a comment yesterday were unsuccessful.