‘Not in the media’

REGGAE BOYZ head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was critical of individuals within the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) who have been leaking sensitive information ahead of schedule. This comes after comments made at a press conference on Thursday at the JFF headquarters.

Hallgrimsson, accompanied by his assistant coach, Merron Gordon, admitted that he has been displeased with the way in which sensitive information has been leaked to the general public.

As he announced the squad for Jamaica’s fixture against the USA in the CONCACAF Nations League, the coach said it was “interesting” how the squad had already been revealed hours before schedule.

According to Hallgrimsson, this makes the coaching staff uncertain about who they can trust with the team’s information.

“It is interesting to talk about the squad because it is already on social media, so it’s interesting and makes you wonder who you can trust or not. It leaks easily out here in Jamaica, so we need to be more careful, especially going into important matches like these that we don’t give any advantage to the opponents.”

He also said information surrounding the suspension of Leon Bailey was leaked online, which forced him to address the matter publicly.

Bailey has been dropped from the Jamaica squad to face the USA after the player, along with striker Trivante Stewart, had broken the team’s curfew during the previous camp.

Hallgrimsson explained that both players had apologised for their infractions and had accepted their punishments.

He further explained that the intention was to keep the disciplinary matter a private affair within the team, however, with the news being leaked online, he was forced to address the situation in the press conference.

“I know that if we don’t explain, there will be a lot of questions,” he said.

“We have kind of finished this. Both players took responsibility for their actions. They apologised to us and the squad, and the apology was accepted. For all of us, the case is closed and we move on.

“It was dealt with inside the group and should always be done this way and not in the media. Again, someone felt it was necessary to leak it, and it has been all over the media for the last 24 hours, and I really would have liked to have presented this another way, but because of the leak, we just have to rip the Band-Aid and say things as they are.”

Hallgrimsson has called for the individuals responsible to stop leaking information because it puts the team at a disadvantage.

“There is an old Arab proverb that says, ‘It is better to have 1,000 enemies outside of the tent than to have one inside of it’.”