JFF fires physical trainer
Published:Monday | February 13, 2023 | 8:58 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
National team physical trainer Jason ‘Buju’ Henry has been fired from his post by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
Reliable sources told The Gleaner that Henry has been dismissed for his role in the bust up between members of Harbour View FC and the security force at a recent Jamaica Premier League (JPL) game against Vere United at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Clarendon.
When contacted for comment, JFF General Secretary Dennis Chung would neither deny nor confirm the sacking, insisting it is against federation policy to discuss publicly matters which involve employees.
“I can’t talk about things like that. That is an internal thing. I can’t discuss anything to do with employees. We just cannot discuss things regarding our employees,” he stated.
When contacted, Henry declined to comment directly on the issue.
“Not going to comment,” Henry said. “After legal advice, not commenting right now. I will not be the first or last person to get fired,” he added.
Last Sunday at the Wembley Centre of Excellence, Henry was ejected from the Harbour View bench for repeatedly abusing the match officials.
However, things did not stop there, as it is alleged that he continued his verbal assault from beyond the perimeter fence and was approached by security officials who attempted to escort him to the dressing room.
The Harbour View contingent did not take kindly to the treatment of Henry after he was accosted by the police, and players and team officials ran to his rescue and verbally abused the security personnel in the chaos that ensued.
However, the JFF did not look favourably on Henry’s involvement in the matter as a member of the national programme, and took the decision to end ties with the highly rated trainer.
Another JFF official could also lose his job today, as he is being blamed for the faulty travel arrangements which saw 14 members of the under 17 squad missing their flight to Guatemala last Thursday.
Our sources have revealed that the second JFF official is likely to be national Under-17 team manager Remawn Thomas but, when contacted yesterday for a comment, Thomas, who is in the island while the players are in Guatemala, told The Gleaner that ‘everything is good’.
“I just did not travel. Everything is good,” he said. “I have nothing at all to say.”
However, when quizzed if he expects to continue with the team after this, he said: “Let us see what happens.”
According to the JFF source, Henry was fired on Friday.