The RC Doctors Football Club says it will not participate in any competition organized by the Dominica Football Association (DFA) until it receives a response to a letter questioning the outcome of last month’s Division One third-place playoff against St. Joseph FC.
The club alleges that St. Joseph FC fielded an ineligible player during the match, which St. Joseph won in extra time. RC Doctors wrote the DFA on November 10 seeking an investigation but says it has not received any acknowledgement or reply.
Club president Sharkeem Stoute told DBS Sports that RC Doctors will remain out of local football until the matter is resolved.
“We immediately contacted the DFA about a player who was not on the team sheet but took part in the match,” Stoute explained. “The officials who were there confirmed it was true. All our facts were plain and simple. We wrote a letter to the FA requesting an investigation, and to this date, about three weeks later, we haven’t received any correspondence from the DFA, not even to say they received our letter.”
Stoute said the club believes the lack of response is unfair.
“In light of that, we feel that when anything is against us, they write us immediately. They had us going through a whole long dilemma last season over a former player who hadn’t played for us in a long time. So we felt it was only fair that they wrote back to us and gave some clarification on this matter. And if we don’t get clarification, then we will not take part in any football going forward. That’s just the point.”
He added that the club forfeited its President’s Cup match on the weekend because there was still no communication from the DFA.
“That’s why we didn’t show up for the game on Sunday, because we didn’t get any letter or correspondence from the DFA. We feel that’s not professional and that’s not fair, because we wrote to you; you should at least write us back.”
DBS Sports reached out to the Dominica Football Association and was told the matter is still under investigation.
Meanwhile, Stoute says he is expecting a fair and favorable response.
“If FIFA is for fair play, then even if we had a weakened team on the day, we still came out to play the game,” he said. “If your team fails to show up on the day, you should not put in players who are not registered or not on the team sheet, and that is what happened. According to the laws of the game, if the player is not on the team sheet, how can he play? Everyone was wondering why he was on the bench and another guy was playing in his place, only to find out the player’s name wasn’t on the sheet. That’s what happened.”
