Visa timing cited, not Cuban conflict
By Charles Rabin. crabin@herald.com. Posted at 7:14 a.m.
EDT Wednesday, April 18, 2001. Miami Herald
Organizers of the Copa Caribe soccer tournament have decided not to use the
Orange Bowl next month, allaying concerns of Miami officials who feared civil
unrest if the Cuban national team qualified to play in those games.
But in a brief three-paragraph statement, soccer's regional governing body
said the decision had nothing to do with pressure from Miami City Manager Carlos
Gimenez, who said he could not guarantee the safety of fans or the players if
Cuba were to play here.
"A combination of complex logistical issues -- of which the possibility
of Cuba qualifying for the finals is the least -- has caused the finals of the
Copa Caribe to be rescheduled from Miami . . . to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and
Tobago next month,'' wrote Rick Lawes, director of communications for the
Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
Lawes said tournament organizers determined it would be nearly impossible to
get 200 visas for the eight quarterfinal teams in time for the games scheduled
for Little Havana's Orange Bowl on May 25 and 27.
He called the question of Cuba's playing in Miami "a moot point''
because the team has yet to qualify.
Lawes said he had no idea whether tournament promoters spoke with Cuban
authorities about the national team's playing in Miami.
The Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., did not return phone calls
over several days.
Asked why the confederation didn't look into visas earlier, Lawes said, "I
can't speak to that one way or the other. By the time they really started to
look, the logistics weren't possible.''
Although not common, visa problems surface from time to time in the soccer
world. In late March, a World Cup qualifying game between Mexico and Jamaica was
almost postponed when Mexican authorities demanded fingerprints of all the
Jamaican players. The embassy later relented, and the game was played.
VISA QUESTION
No one at the State Department could be reached late Tuesday to say how
difficult it would have been to obtain visas.
Tuesday's announcement was greeted with skepticism by some in Miami's
Jamaican and Haitian communities, two of South Florida's largest minorities and
among its biggest soccer fans. The Jamaican and Haitian soccer clubs had a
chance to play in Miami.
"It's really ridiculous what they are saying, because we know it is not
true,'' former Haitian national team member ZeNono Baptiste said. "It's all
politics. They have been advised to play at other places. That statement was
clear.''
Milton Baker, a Jamaican who serves as vice president of the Lauderhill
Youth Soccer Association, agreed.
"They found an excuse. It's likely Cuba may make it, and they don't
want the negative,'' he said.
Although no contract was signed, the tournament had reserved the Orange Bowl
for the tournaments semifinals and finals.
TEAMS WITH A SHOT
The Cuban team is one victory from the semifinals. Other teams with a shot
are Suriname, Martinique, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis.
Haiti also has a good chance to qualify from another group of four.
The tournament's plan to play in the Orange Bowl became an issue last week,
when some city leaders began invoking the memory of the unrest caused last year
by the removal of Cuban rafter Elián González from his
great-uncle's Little Havana home.
Tournament promoter Stefano Turconi said last week that he was here during
the Elián struggle and understands the political implications but did not
take them into account during Copa Caribe negotiations.
He did not return several calls Tuesday.
City Commissioners Tomás Regalado and Joe Sanchez and City Manager
Carlos Gimenez, all Cuban Americans, said they feared civil disobedience.
Regalado said the thought of Cuban players dedicating the tournament trophy to
Fidel Castro was sickening. Commissioner Johnny Winton, a white non-Hispanic,
sided with them.
'NOT BEST PLACE'
"We advised them of our concerns and said the Orange Bowl was probably
not the best place to play,'' Gimenez said.
Miami Mayor Joe Carollo said that until Cuba becomes a democracy, "No
Cuban team should be playing in the Orange Bowl in Miami.''
Only Miami Commissioner Arthur Teele Jr. called it "sad'' that the
promoters decided to find another site.
"My personal belief is the anxiety and civil rights protests would be
healthy for the community. I think the community has matured to a point that it
would not be harmful to others,'' he said.
Miami's leading Cuban exile organization, the Cuban American National
Foundation, agreed, at least in part, with
No one at the State Department could be reached late Tuesday.
Teele. Spokeswoman Ninoska Pérez Castellón said she's
satisfied with the league's decision but hopes it was for the right reason.
"I just hope they didn't make the decision because of the fear of
violence,'' she said.
That was not the case, Lawes said.
"They would have had to obtain entrance visas for all eight
participating teams, and only four make it,'' he said. "To get an entrance
visa, you need a return ticket. It would have been too much money.''
Herald staff writer Michelle Kaufman contributed to this report.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 