‘What’s best for football’
JFF calls Bailey’s selection suspension necessary for clarity
Published:Thursday | June 27, 2024 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
JAMAICA FOOTBALL Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dennis Chung said yesterday’s announcement that the organisation would suspend invitations to Leon Bailey to be part of the Reggae Boyz squad indefinitely was to create ‘clarity’.
According to Chung, the JFF is trying to avoid a repeat of a situation just ahead of the Copa America where Reggae Boyz coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, announced Bailey as part of a 26-man squad, only for the winger to publicly call the selection ‘misleading’.
Shortly thereafter, Bailey’s manager, Craig Butler, explained that his charge’s position on taking a break to be with family and to take care of his mental health had not changed.
“We think it’s important to do it and also the player stated that he’s unavailable. Therefore, in order to ensure that there’s no more miscommunication, we thought that the best thing to do, until we resolve everything, is to suspend his selection,” said Chung.
However, according to Chung, the indefinite element of the suspension is up to Bailey to change.
“We also stated to the player that, whenever he’s ready, he should write to us so that we don’t leave anything to misinterpretation,” Chung explained.
“We are facilitating what the player has asked for in requesting a break from national duties. We couldn’t put a timeline on the disciplinary and ethics committee. Also, we didn’t want to put a timeline on the player. Therefore, the timeline would be when he writes to us and states that he’s available now.”
“What if we say we’re doing it for a week or six months and then he’s not ready?” asked Chung.
The 26-year-old, who plays in the English Premier League for Aston Villa, has had a long history of battles with the JFF, even prior to his debut in 2019. Chung believes the decision will put to bed all chances of disruption to the national programme.
“We just have to do what’s best for the football. I think this will help, as it will provide clarity. One of the challenges that we’ve had in the past is that clarity wasn’t there. If you don’t do that, then you’ll never get to a better place.”