A Concacaf spokesperson, responding to The Striker's request on Thursday, assured that the scheduled second leg between Austin FC and Violette AC on Tuesday night at Austin's Q2 Stadium will proceed as scheduled.
"Concacaf has received assurances from AC Violette that the club has obtained more than the required number of visas for first-team players to travel and compete in the SCCL R16 2nd Leg match against Austin FC on Tuesday, March 14, 2023," the statement read in full.
The statement counters rumors around the mysterious Haitian team that hadn't played competitively since May before surprising Verde in Tuesday's 3-0 first-leg match (that's 3-0 for the nominal hosts) in the Dominican Republic.
According to a Wednesday tweet from Jorge Iturralde, an Austin-based journalist who traveled to the DR for the first-leg match, a team representative claimed that the club "asked Concacaf to postpone the match in Austin until all their players had their visas to travel," but that the confederation refused.
A #VioletteAC member told me last night, that the team asked #Concacaf to postpone the match in #AustinFC until all their players had their visas to travel and as part of the #FAIRPLAY to have their complete team, but they refused.#Concachampions #CCL2023 #ClubDeportes
— Jorge Iturralde (@jorgeiturralde) March 8, 2023
But Thursday's statement from Concacaf rebuts that allegation, and also puts the confederation on record for Violette to field a squad in Austin — though CCL rules make clear that it's the club's responsibility to field competitive rosters, as Striker contributor Arch Bell pointed out in a tweet to answer some of the swirling rumors.
I think some clarification on clubs and visas in the Concacaf Champions League is needed. Let me refer you to the 2023 CCL Regulations. https://t.co/NLspiU0j4y
— Arch Bell (@ArchBell) March 8, 2023
Re: Violette visa status for 2nd leg vs. Austin FC. Securing visas is a club responsibility, not Concacaf.
The unusual situation — especially with Violette AC now in position to advance to the quarterfinal round against the Tauro-León series winner – has led some fans to consult the Concacaf Champions League rules to determine what might happen should the Haitian team not be able to field a squad against Austin.
According to the rules — specifically Rule 7.2, "Once having entered The Competition, participating clubs must meet all obligations including participating in all matches. Failure to participate in any match may be considered by Concacaf, at its sole discretion, as a withdrawal from the event. A withdrawal may have a serious impact on the integrity of the event and as such, the penalties as specified below will apply, except in cases of force majeure or unforeseen circumstances deemed acceptable by Concacaf." Rule 7.3 lays out a series of fines for teams failing to show up for a scheduled match.
Austin FC sent out an email reminder to season ticket holders on Thursday morning about tickets for Tuesday night's 7 p.m. match, showing limited availability for tickets starting at $57 via SeatGeek.