‘Hopefully, good sense prevails’

MEMBERS OF the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) and the JFF referees’ department are working for a speedy resolution after referees refused to suit up for Sunday’s round of Jamaica Premier League (JPL) matches, because of monies owed to them.

At about 10 p.m. on Saturday, communication from the referees’ department indicated that the officials would not be ‘available’.

CEO of the PFJL, Owen Hill, revealed that all attempts to get the officials on the field for Sunday proved futile.

He pointed out that, since the turn of the year, the volume of games has increased two-fold, with teams playing twice per week. While the inflow of funds has had to follow its regular cycle and this has created a burden on the PFJL’s finances, said Hill.

There is also an issue with travel allowances, which Hill said need,,s to be vetted properly.

“We had some discussions with the [JFF] gen-sec [Dennis Chung], representatives of the referees’ department and we were advised that the referees were available.

“A payment was even made last night [Saturday] with the assurance that they would have turned out. But afforts to get them out did not end in an amenable way,” he said.

“Monies have been owed them. But it is not just them alone. It is all coming from how we collect flows. Sponsors give over the money and, once it reaches, we pay out to whosoever is to get the money.

“We haven’t really got the money from the sponsors as yet. It normally comes in cycles and we have been trying to communicate in different ways.

“They (referees) were paid up to match week 20, in terms of fees. And it has not been weeks, because, most time, matches are played during the week. So you are racking up expenses faster than you are able to collect, but it’s because of the nuance of the season,” he explained.

The bulk of the monies owed, which is understood to be millions, is for travelling, but Hill said some of those claims need to be reviewed.

“How it works. There are referee fees and there is travelling. The travelling needs to be vetted. But they have submitted their claims to the JFF, who did their reviews and submitted their travelling claim forms.

“But there are some discrepancies with travelling and it has been an age-old problem. So what we did was a real check to find out what is really outstanding versus what they are saying,” he noted.

Nevertheless, he said they are doing all they can to get the referees back on the field in the shortest possible time.

“We are hoping for a quick resolution. For the sake of the game. For the sake of the country. For the sake of the players and for the sake of all stakeholders involved. Hopefully, good sense prevails across the board,” he added.

Chung, who has been mediating the situation, is hoping to have the matter resolved by today.

“We are aware of the situation and we are hoping to have a resolution to it in the morning. I was on the phone last night [Saturday] and just now [yesterday], and we have been meeting with the parties over the weekend, and we are hoping to have a resolution tomorrow [today],” he said.

Efforts to get to head of the referees’ department, Cardella Samuels, were not successful.

However, one referee disclosed that monies are also owed to match commissioners and assessors.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com