Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

THIS AFTERNOON'S start of the 2007 Ben Francis Cup knockout competition could be overshadowed by a controversy involving Cornwall College, who topped Zone A of the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup and were slated to play against Cedric Titus today.

"Allegations claiming that Cornwall College have used a new player, who breached the eligibility clause by not sitting out one year, has come to our attention and while we have not received a formal protest from any principal, which is the requirement, we have decided to investigate the matter," said ISSA's president, Dr. Walton Small.

"While we are not seeking to pre-empt anything, we will be reviewing the file of the player in question and we have requested and will be examining all of Cornwall College's match cards," said Small. "We have taken a decision to put the Ben Francis KO game between Cornwall College and Cedric Titus, which was slated for tomorrow (today), on hold," he said.

While ISSA awaits the anticipated protests from schools that could benefit should Cornwall College be found in breach of any regulations, Dr. Small said that from an integrity perspective, ISSA feels obligated to conduct its own investigations.

Misunderstanding

When contacted for a comment on the issue, Cornwall College's coach Dr. Dean Weatherley described the situation as one big misunderstanding involving William Wilkinson, a student who transferred from a Montego Bay private high school to Cornwall College at the start of the current academic year.

"He came to us from a non-ISSA school (private school) so we never realised that the rules would have affected him," said Weatherley. "In any event, he just played 20 minutes in one game and even if we lose the points from that game, we would win the zone nonetheless."

In looking at the ISSA clause that would prevent Wilkinson from representing Cornwall College this season, Weatherley said that he has now learnt that had the player been 16 years old and not 17, the ruling would not have affected his participation.

"Were we clear on the regulation in regards to non-ISSA schools. We would not have used him because we have always indulged in fair play here at Cornwall College," said Weatherley. "If we are asked to forfeit the points for the game he played in, we would have no difficulty complying with such as ruling."

With the ISSA probe already under way, Small said the investigations could be completed within a day or so as to facilitate the smooth running of the Ben Francis Cup, which is being contested by zone winners from the preliminary round of the daCosta Cup.

TODAY'S GAMES

Ben Francis KO

Dinthill vs Brimmervale at Dinthill

Garvey Maceo vs Spaldings at Manchester High

Munro College vs Manchester at STETHS