Colombian President hands Valderrama ultimatum

BOGOTA, May 12 (AFP)

Alvaro Fina, President of the Colombian Football Federation (FCF), said late on Monday that playmaker Carlos Valderrama would not go to the World Cup Finals if he failed to pay his outstanding tax bill to the French authorities. "If the situation is not resolved in the next few days we may well not take Valderrama to France,"  Fina said. The 36-year-old, capped over 100 times and due to appear in his third successive finals, owes 180,000 francs (around 30,000 dollars) in unpaid tax dating from his time with first division side Montpellier in 1987 and 1988. "The FCF cannot afford to take somebody who owes money in France as it will affect the rest of the squads morale,"  Fina said. The president added that both Valderrama, who was named in the squad for the finals on Tuesday, and his agent Jose Castano had assured him that they would resolve the matter in the next few days. The loss of Valderrama, who didnt play in the invitational match between a European team and the rest of the world side at last years World Cup finals draw in Marseille because of the outstanding debt, would be a devastating blow to national coach Hernan Dario Gomez, who has described him as being indispensable to the side.