Butler and not Butler
U17 coach faces anger after being mistaken for Phoenix Academy boss
Published:Sunday | June 23, 2024 | 12:11 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
HEAD COACH of Jamaica’s under-17 Reggae Boyz, Altimont ‘Freddy’ Butler, has revealed that a recent incident in Florida, Port St Lucie, could have turned sour if he didn’t act quickly to properly identify himself.
The former national striker, while speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, said he was inadvertently pushed into the middle of a Mexican standoff between Phoenix Academy coach Craig Butler and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
“I was at a party and the selector did the usual ‘big up’, saying former national footballer Butler is in the building. The selector didn’t make mention of my other names, Altimont or Freddy, and some patron came over thinking it was Craig Butler and approached me very angrily. Though he couldn’t get directly to me, he kept saying that I was wrecking football in Jamaica. We then had to explain that he was mistaking me for another person,” said Butler.
The national coach doesn’t think there’s any real threat being posed to him in public spaces, choosing to see the incident as a one-off occurrence.
“I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous for me, I think it’s more of a one-off situation. Most people who really know football are aware of the difference between Altimont and Craig Butler. I think because the patron was drinking and he heard the words, ‘Butler’ and ‘football’, he then reacted to that. The only concern I have is that persons might think that we are related and we’re not,” he explained.
There has been significant drama around the Reggae Boyz in recent days following the inclusion of Aston Villa’s winger Leon Bailey, who was added to the team’s 26-man Copa America squad, only for him to announce he would not be playing.
According to Bailey’s manager, Craig Butler, there were outstanding requests which weren’t met hence the 26-year-old shouldn’t have been included. According to Altimont Butler, he isn’t sure as to the reasons why a player in this confederation would want to miss out on playing at the Copa America tournament.
“A player in Europe wouldn’t want to pass up a European Championship, A player in South America wouldn’t pass a Copa America. Lionel Messi is in the Copa America, Kevin De Bruyne and Kylian Mbappe are in the European Championships. Therefore, I’m not sure as to why a player would pass up a prestigious tournament like this,” said the under-17 coach.
While it’s still early days yet for the coach at the helm of the national under-17 programme, he says he is enjoying working with the young players.
“I’m loving it, we’ve looked at over 100 players and the team is pretty hard to select. I’m impressed with the core that we have and we have a bright future with this group.”