The footballer who threw stones and a beer bottle during a domestic match at the Wildey Turf nine days ago has been slapped with a 15-year ban by the Barbados Football Association (BFA).
University of the West Indies (UWI) Blackbirds striker Corey “Santa” Barrow was hit with the penalty after he, as a spectator, attacked Abrahams United Silver Sands’ goalkeeper Jamal Moore in a Premier League match on May 27.
Following an emergency meeting of the BFA’s executive board last week, the 34-year-old Barrow was slapped with the ban, which would see him prohibited from all football-related activities until he turned 49.
When contacted yesterday, BFA president Randy Harris said they were sending a clear message to players, and hoped the incident would act as a deterrent for any persons who would want to attempt such behaviour at football.
Clear message
“We did our investigations and the board came up with the punishment, which we thought was fitting for the way the incident unfolded. We are sending a clear message as to how we view this type of behaviour at the facility. It’s the only facility we have available at the moment, and we have to ensure that the players and patrons attending football are safe. It is unfortunate, but we had to take decisive action,” he told NATIONSPORT.
“When we improved the facility up here, we set up a perimeter fence to prevent this type of incident from happening. However, the culprit breached the security and scaled the fence, which we thought was unbecoming of a registered player of the BFA.”
According to reports, Barrow, who was present during the nightcap game between Paradise and Silver Sands, got into an argument with Moore. Barrow then hurled a beer bottle at Moore who was on the field during play.
An enraged Barrow subsequently jumped the fence and went onto the restricted area, armed with two rocks and threw them at the goalkeeper. While one missed, the other struck Moore on a hand and a fight ensued, bringing the game to a halt after police and players had to part the two men. A clip of the alter-cation has since gone viral on all social media platforms.
Placed on bond
The 34-year-old Clapham, St Michael resident saw himself hauled in front the District “A” Magistrates’ Court last week Monday, before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant, who placed the first-time offender on a six-month bond to keep the peace. If breached, he would be fined $750 forthwith or spend six weeks in prison.
The BFA has been on a drive to eradicate all forms of violence throughout football, with the introduction of their Stop The Violence campaign, which was introduced in 2016.
Head coach of UWI’s Academy of Sport, Roland Butcher, said he was out of the island, and unaware of the BFA’s decision.
“I presume there are appeals to deal with this type of thing, so I will deal with the matter when I return next week,” he said.
Barrow is also coach of Pro Shottas Soccer School and president Greg Castagne said the executive of the school were looking further into the matter to determine the way forward.
“We are in correspondence with the BFA, and it is a matter still to be concluded. We are looking into the matter a bit further, before we make a final decision. Prior to the BFA making their decision, we had suspended [Barrow] for four weeks,” he said, adding that he would “have a better idea later this week”. (RA)
