ISSA president rubbishes favouritism claims
Published:Sunday | October 27, 2024 | 12:13 AM
INTER-SECONDARY SCHOOLS Sports Association (ISSA) President Keith Wellington and Competitions Officer Ewan Scott have dismissed claims made by Manchester High School principal, Jasford Gabriel, that there is a lack of impartiality, especially when it comes to St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), in the daCosta Cup competition.
Earlier this week, Gabriel accused Wellington, who is also the principal of STETHS, of bias towards his school in regards to the scheduling of games in the round of 32 of the rural schoolboy competition.
He alleged that the scheduling of two home games as well as avoiding Clarendon-based schools was a clear advantage for STETHS, who had finished as runners-up in Zone E.
“Would any well-reasoned individual dismiss all these as coincidences?” Gabriel asked.
“What was the process that led to the qualifiers from Zone E, including the school led by the president of ISSA, ending up in such an advantageous position?
“It must be of concern that higher-ranked teams from the previous ranking exercise did not enjoy the same privilege.”
STETHS were one of three first-round runners-up who had played two home games during the round of 32 group stages, alongside Zone A runners-up Maldon and Zone L runners-up Paul Bogle.
DENIED ALLEGATIONS
However, Wellington, speaking at the launch of Xpress Sports on Constant Spring Road yesterday, denied the allegations levied, saying that the scheduling of the daCosta Cup had been set since August.
He also stated that it is ISSA protocol that any school that had issues with the scheduling could provide feedback before the start of the competition, yet Gabriel had not done so.
“I want to establish that I, Keith Wellington, nor any president at all of ISSA does not intervene with the scheduling,” he responded.
“In terms of the actual fixtures, we have nothing to do with it, and in terms of this case, the schedule was published from August this year.
“We have a policy that once we’ve created the schedule, we ask for feedback, and once we haven’t gotten any feedback, then it’s final, and we do not intervene with the fixtures because we do not want to be accused of favouring any team or fixing any particular game.”
Wellington stated that while Gabriel had indeed raised his concerns about what he deemed an “unfair advantage” in favour of STETHS, he had done so during the competition, which was past the deadline for any schedule changes.
COULD NOT BE CHANGED
He said the matter was brought to daCosta Cup chairman Linvern Wright, who also indicated that the schedule could not be changed during the competition.
“He first brought it to my attention at a lunch I was having with him and his wife and another colleague, which had nothing to do with football,” the ISSA president explained.
“I advised him he could speak with the chairman, and I was told that Mr Wright advised him it could not change in the middle of competition. It might not have been addressed in the way he recommended, but it was addressed.”
Scott echoed Wellington’s statement as he said any changes to the schedule made during the competition to benefit a specific school would be seen as match-fixing on ISSA’s part.
He stated that the scheduling process is a tried-and-tested method, which has been used by the association for the daCosta Cup for years.
“The norm is that in any group of four, two teams will get two home matches, and two teams will have to play away twice. There is no way around it,” he stated.
“We had the launch in August, and the schedule was shared even before that for the schools to give feedback. After we published it, there is no way we then go and say ‘Team A, you did well so we’re going to move you from this zone to that zone’. That is now match-fixing, and we’re not into match-fixing.”