Lawyer, Jiten Reddy says he has decided that he will not represent suspended Referees Director of the Fiji Football Association, Rakesh Varman as he is the Vice President and a board member of the Fiji FA.
Reddy who initially confirmed that he was representing Varman is now saying there will be a conflict of interest as he is part of the Fiji FA and the soccer body is investigating Varman.
Meanwhile, Varman has denied the allegations that he threw rubbish on the beachside and adds he is considering taking legal action against the person who leaked the video which is circulating online.
The video shows Varman picking up rubbish strewn over the beachside and the person shooting the video saying that the senior official had allegedly dumped the rubbish including baby diapers on the beach.
The person shooting the video says that they own that area and he will ensure the Fiji FA sees what the official is doing. The person also says in the video that he won’t take any money offered to him by the official.
Varman says he and his wife were allegedly threatened by the man to pick up rubbish and he had to do it to avoid further problems.
He says he does not take responsibility for throwing the rubbish on the beach and the video has been wrongly portrayed.
Varman adds the incident happened in March and he picked up the rubbish under duress.
On Friday evening, the Fiji Football Association made a statement that for this alleged action as seen in the video, the staff member has been indefinitely suspended with immediate effect and has been advised to provide a detailed report on the issue as well on his personal capacity.
Fiji FA President, Rajesh Patel says the Fiji FA has a code of conduct policy and such actions call the immediate attention of the Association to fully exhaust the internal disciplinary process.
Patel says the staff member has been advised accordingly for the actions while they will carry out their own investigations to ascertain the facts on this issue before a final decision is made by the Fiji FA Board.
He says they are aware of the video where the staff member is allegedly involved in dumping rubbish on a beach along the Coral Coast.
Minister for Waterways and Environment, Doctor Mahendra Reddy says he has asked the Permanent Secretary for Environment to start the process of prosecution for the now-suspended Fiji FA senior official caught on video after allegedly disposing waste on the beachside.
Doctor Reddy says this is a serious matter and they will not spare anyone who engages in such reckless activity. He says they have given ample warning to members of the public that they must properly dispose of their waste.
Doctor Reddy says anyone found disposing their waste in public places or in our pristine environment will be dealt with.
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