The court said ”evidence against Rosnick Grant regarding the
sexual abuse charges was sufficiently convincing” and confirmed his expulsion
from soccer.
FIFA’s ethics committee had investigated “acts of
harassment, sexual abuse, threats and coercion against female referees” by
Grant, who had been vice president of the Haiti soccer federation and its head
of refereeing.
Three CAS judges “considered the testimony of a victim, who
had traveled to Switzerland for the hearing, to be accurate, coherent and
credible,” the court said.
“The panel also noted,” CAS said, “the inconsistency and
imprecision in the statements of the witnesses called by Rosnick Grant, most of
whom stated, in a contradictory and unconvincing manner,” that the allegations
against him were a conspiracy.
Grant’s ban was upheld weeks after former Haiti federation
president Yves Jean-Bart had his life ban overturned by three different judges
who criticized the quality of evidence presented by FIFA.
FIFA alleged Jean-Bart had raped underage girls and
habitually had sexual relationships with players during 20 years leading the
Caribbean island’s soccer federation.
Potential witnesses in Jean-Bart’s case were alleged to have
been intimidated and the judges in their verdict acknowledged some might have
felt threatened.
FIFA has filed an appeal in the Jean-Bart case to the Swiss
supreme court.
At Grant’s two-day appeal in February, “numerous witnesses
were heard, some of whom benefited from special protective measures,” CAS said.
Grant’s fine imposed by FIFA was cut from 100,000 Swiss
francs ($109,000) to 35,000 Swiss francs ($38,000) which was more appropriate
to his salary level in Haiti, the judges decided. -AP
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