PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad Express):

FIFA vice-president and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special adviser, Austin 'Jack' Warner, maintained his silence on Sunday, as the Soca Warriors continued to slide towards disbandment.

On Friday evening, the Warriors, led by team captain Dwight Yorke, declared their intention to resign from international duty due to an alleged breach of contract by the T&TFF.

A hasty release from T&TFF general secretary Richard Groden, which erroneously accused the players of planning a boycott of Saturday's friendly against St. Vincent and the Grenadines, suggested that the problem lay with the distribution of sponsorship money.

Groden submitted an unaudited statement of income and expendi-ture to the national media, which claimed that the T&TFF received TT$18,255,952 for its part in the Germany 2006 World Cup.

Accounting

The players are believed to be concerned about the accuracy of the T&TFF's accounting.

For starters, there was no mention of money accrued from television rights. The deal, which was agreed to between the players and Warner two days before the first leg World Cup play-off against Bahrain, controversially failed to share television money for the Bahrain legs, as well as a host of friendly matches against the likes of Iceland, Wales and the Czech Republic. These matches were televised throughout Europe by high-profile stations like Sky Sports and Euro Sports.

There is worry that several sponsors were omitted or figures doctored as well.

The T&TFF's accountant for this project, by its own admission, is Kenny Rampersad, who was revealed to be Warner's business partner during investigations on Simpaul Travel Services last December. Rampersad, at the time, was mandated to act on Simpaul's behalf.

Worse, as far as the players were concerned, the T&TFF then deducted expenses before handing over the Warriors' share. And a $9 million share was reduced to TT$141,102 to be split 25 ways - 24 players and one share for the players' committee.