By Neto Baptiste
General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Zorol Barthley says the organisation has reached an agreement with former national player and coach Derrick Edwards regarding his request for a copy of a report into an incident that led to his arrest in Jamaica in March 2018.
“We have discussed that in detail with Derrick. We had that talk with him even before he became part of the under-20s. In terms of the sensitivities surrounding what the report contains, let’s just say that it is being handled behind closed doors. What I can say – and I think this is one thing the report made clear – is that Derrick probably came out of the whole thing smelling the sweetest. The details will not be made public; the matter will be handled behind closed doors,” he said.
Edwards, who was an assistant coach with the senior men’s national team at the time, and then equipment manager Danny Benjamin were arrested at Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica on 26 March 2018 after a quantity of marijuana was found in an equipment bag they presented to officials while checking in.
The team was returning to Antigua after playing a friendly international against Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz.
Barthley said the FA must protect itself from a legal standpoint, but added that Edwards would be provided with the relevant sections of the report.
“He will be privy to the relevant parts of the report as they relate to him. The report was never intended to be public and so, from a technical and legal standpoint, you have to be very careful about its contents and how it is disseminated. He will be furnished with the relevant details, signed by the relevant people, which he can hold up and say, ‘Here is my justification,’” Barthley said.
Edwards was named assistant coach of the national men’s under-20 team in June, marking his return to national coaching following the 2018 incident. Last week, he was appointed assistant coach of the senior men’s team.
ABFA, Edwards reach agreement over 2018 Jamaica report
