The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian national soccer player Jared Higgs has won his appeal to the Court of Arbitration in Switzerland against the Bahamas Football Association’s four-year ban for an alleged doping violation.

Last February, the BBF announced Higgs was banned for four years in accordance with the mandatory BFA Pre-Competition Testing, FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations 5 - 3 and 8, and WADA Anti-Doping Code 2015, V1.10.1 and 10.2.1.2.

Higgs, who had hired lawyer Vincent Wallace-Whitfield, confirmed to The Tribune last night he had won his appeal on Monday, but they were waiting until they read the decision fully to comment.

He would only confirmed “we won”.

Efforts to contact Wallace-Whitfield were not successful.

When contacted, BFA secretary general Fred Lunn said they have not received the report, so he could not comment. However, he said they were aware Higgs had taken his case to Switzerland after he exhausted all avenues under the BFA.

“We won’t know exactly what the ruling states until we get the report, which is normally a lengthy one,” Lunn said. “The report will indicate to us what the ruling imply. So we can’t comment until we get it.”

While Higgs was banned, four other players - Ehren Hanna, Torin Ferguson, Lamar Cancino and Christopher Davis - were all sanctioned following anti-doping testing in 2017 prior to the CONCACAF Qualifiers and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

But Wallace-Whitfield said it was a “travesty of justice where due process was not followed” because his client, Higgs, was never tested for any banned substances.