The Sunday News
A 60-year-old club owner who went viral after starting himself in his team’s continental cup match last month has reportedly been banned after a video of him allegedly paying the opposition emerged.
Ronnie Brunswijk, the deputy president of Suriname and club owner of Inter Moengotapoe, started his side’s CONCACAF League match against Honduras outfit Olimpia on 21 September.
Brunswijk, who became Suriname’s vice-president in 2020, gave himself the captain’s armband for the first 54 minutes of the fixture, before he was substituted with his club 3-0 down.
The most controversial moment appeared to take place after the game, though, when the politician was caught on video seemingly giving money to Olimpia’s players.
Football’s governing body in the Americas, CONCACAF, revealed a day later that they would open a disciplinary probe into the video as they were “extremely worried by the content of a video that is circulating in social media and that raises potential integrity issues surrounding the CONCACAF League match between Inter Moengotapoe and CD Olimpia”.
Following a lengthy investigation, CONCACAF has now released a statement on their findings, confirming that Brunswijk has received a lengthy suspension.
“Having assessed the actions evidenced in the video and considered written statements provided by both clubs, the Committee has determined that serious breaches of integrity rules occurred after the match,” the statement read.
Brunswijk is no stranger to disciplinary committees – the Moengotapoe owner was previously suspended for allegedly threatening a player with a gun during a match, but that ban was not upheld due to a reported lack of evidence, according to Goal.-kickoff.com
