Foreign Player Agent Weighs in on Football Investigation

Tonight, we dig deeper into a scandal that’s shaking Belizean football to its core. Six foreign players, brought in with the promise of opportunity, ended up behind bars instead and jailed on immigration offenses while still playing for a Premier League team. At the center of it all is Wagiya Sporting Club and its longtime owner, Nelson Moss. Tonight, Moss is pointing fingers at the players’ agent, but that agent isn’t staying silent. In an exclusive with News 5, the agent is pushing back, refuting Moss’s claims and raising even bigger questions about oversight in Belizean football. News Five’s Paul Lopez has the latest in this unfolding investigation.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

In late July six foreign players entered Belize legally after they signed an agreement with Wagiya Sporting Club to play in the Premier League of Belize Opening Season. Almost two months later, all six players were arrested and sent to the Belize Central Prison for being in the country illegally. One of the players, Devien Bell, told News Five it was a traumatic experience.

 

Devien Bell, American Athlete

“We were crying, stressed, we had to hug each other and make sure that we were good and it was a total side wipe of what we expected to happen. A lot of the guys said that they are traumatized. It is bad.”

 

The players were jailed not only because their visitor’s visa expired but also because they were still working, still practicing and playing games for Wagiya Sports Club. All of this with an expired visitor visa and no work visa. The Team’s Owner, Nelson Moss, admitted to News Five that he was aware of this situation, but he still allowed the players to continue to work.

 

Paul Lopez

“Yet they continued to work for you, practice and play. How should this be interpreted?”

 

Nelson Moss, Manager/Owner, Wagiya Sports Club

“It all falls under the tryout agreement we had with their agent. So, I was just holding true to that.”

 

The players didn’t expect this to be the case. That’s because, according to Bell, they handed their passports to Moss after arriving in Belize with the expectation that Moss would secure their work visas. But that never happened, and Moss allegedly held on to the passports even though the players were repeatedly asking for updates. So what was the reason for the delay?

 

Nelson Moss

“We had the issue with the money for the payment for the extension and that was to come from the agent. That is what I was waiting for.”

 

Well, News Five reached out to Mexican Football Agent, Bruno Guerrero for his perspective. For context, Guerrero has been a football agent for the past seven years, connecting players with teams. Bell and two of the Mexican players are clients of his. Guerrero says he is not to blame.

 

Bruno Guerrero, Football Agent

“It is bad, because it happened with three of my players, but it is a big opportunity for work and give better opportunities not only for the players, but for the teams and region and everything. That is what I think.”

 

Paul Lopez

“The owner of the Wagiya football club is saying that he was unable to process the work permit for these three players because you did not send the funds for those permits, was that the agreement?”

 

Bruno Guerrero

“It is not like that. But, like I said, my work is not to talk about anybody. I am working with different teams in all the world and if I say something it is because it is what it is. I don’t like to talk bad about nothing and this problem is with Dangriga in Wagiya. This problem happens with other teams too.”

 

In addition to having an expired visitor’s visa, no work visa and thrown into jail with hardened criminals, Bell says he did not receive any payment for his employment period with Wagiya.

 

Paul Lopez

“Were agreements ever made for them to paid during this period and was that to be from the club, the agent?”

 

Nelson Moss

“The agent himself said he was going to get that money for me to take care of that for them. As a matter of fact, the agent when he met with me, we did not talk about any payment. We talk about giving them an opportunity to move to another club and advancing their career in football.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Who was suppose to pay them and give them their allowance and stipend for going to practice and play games?”

 

Bruno Guerrero

“The owner for the team, the owner for the team is to be there to work in that. We talked about that. I can’t do nothing because, in my work I am in the middle.”

 

Guerrero praised Belize and sees the experience as a chance to improve football there. He intends to continue working with local athletes. Meanwhile, concerns grow over the Premier League’s oversight of foreign players’ legal status and compensation.

 

Ian Haylock, President, Premier League of Belize

“But again, we have a league a federation to ensure there is some sort of platform that is there to assist clubs, to assist the league from a federation perspective to ensure that players are handled properly, that clubs fulfil their obligations, and that the league try to ensure hat measures are in place to ensure that clubs and players are up to date with their legal requirements.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez