Wint downplays FIFA’s Busby probe

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dalton Wint says that the decision to allow FIFA to do their independent investigation regarding national senior women’s head coach Hubert Bubsy Jr was a matter of removing any hints of not being impartial.

Bubsy was suspended on Tuesday from his role after a meeting with the JFF executive following sexual misconduct allegations by former Vancouver Whitecaps women’s player Malloree Enoch. The allegations, which were published last Thursday in an article by British newspaper The Guardian, stemmed from his time in Vancouver while he was head coach during 2010-2011. According to the release on Tuesday, a permanent decision will not be made until the investigation is complete.

When asked about whether the federation is doing any internal investigations regarding conduct in the women’s senior programme specifically, Wint maintained FIFA’s role in the process, saying that the purpose is to eliminate any perceptions of interference given the nature of the matter.

“We have asked FIFA to do the investigation, so when FIFA does the investigation, I know that it will not stop at just the Vancouver [Whitecaps],” Wint told The Gleaner. “They will do a complete thing, and it is independent. So there is no reason or no opportunity to comprise anything.”

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However, Wint declined to comment further on the matter regarding specifically the due diligence of the hiring process as well as if there will be any internal investigations of the team.

When contacted, JFF women’s committee chairperson Elaine Walker-Brown also declined to comment regarding any potential internal investigations into the Reggae Girlz in light of the allegations made by Enoch.

In addition to FIFA’s investigation, Major League Soccer announced on Friday that they have appointed an independent counsel to investigate his conduct as well as an overall review of the club’s working environment.

“The investigation will include a review of the club’s internal processes and the overall culture at the time as well as recommendations on preventative measures to ensure that all players and staff under the Whitecaps organisation umbrella work in a safe environment free of all forms of harassment and fear of retaliation,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, JFF technical committee chairman Rudolph Speid said that they are searching for an interim coach to help lead the programme while the investigation is ongoing. The Reggae Girlz are scheduled to start their World Cup qualifying campaign next February and this month will be the last international window for a friendly or a camp to be held to fine-tune their preparations.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com