3 months ago
17
DELAYS IN coming to a decision based on an investigation into Mount Pleasant’s alleged use of ineligible players in this season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL) has irked some club administrators, who say the impact could be incalculable.
Arnett Gardens General Manager Peter Thelwell is amazed at the length of time the Jamaica Football Federation’s Competitions’ Committee has taken to make and announce their decision.
He is also disappointed with the lack of communication on the matter since the news broke early last week.
While he is a little befuddled by the delays, he believes the competition, which is slated to go into the play-off round on Thursday, should not be held up on account of it.
“It should not be taking so long, but we can’t stop the game. What we should do is urge the regulators to speed up the process. But we can’t stop the game.
“I wouldn’t stop the game right now. So the regulators must do the right thing and step up the process, so that it doesn’t affect the competition,” he said.
“I find it very sad that the regulators have not made a statement to the media, the public, the clubs to inform us of what they are doing.
“It is very sad that we haven’t heard anything. So in that sense, I am very disappointed with how everything has been handled. But we just have to let the law take it course,” he commented.
Another administrator, who asked not to be named, said he expected a decision before Sunday’s final round of preliminary games, and that a ruling must be made before the start of the play-offs on Thursday.
“With the play-offs starting Thursday, I expect to hear something difinitive. I don’t know what’s taking so long.
“The play-offs surround Mount Pleasant, who are the winners of the league format. You must rule and it must be announced, or a dark cloud will hang over everything. The ruling must come,” the administrator commented.
Montego Bay United President Dr Germaine Spencer said the committee must be allowed to make their ruling without pressure or interference.
“That is an administrative issue that the JFF Competitions Committee needs to rule on. That is their responsibility. So allow them to do their part and decide how to move forward,” he offered.
Mount Pleasant have been brought before the JFF Competitions Committee after Cavalier Soccer Club filed a complaint that the St Ann-based club had used two Haitians players, Angelo Exilus and Jeudy Johnson, who were registered with Haitian club Real Hope FC up until February, after the January transfer window was closed
The players played in the Concacaf Champions Cup for Real Hope against the Mexican club Cruz Azul on February 4 and 11, before joining Mount Pleasant and playing six matches for the club between April 10 and April 27.
This after they had reportedly been contracted to the St Ann team during the January transfer window even though FIFA, Concacaf, and JFF regulations do not allow players to be registered with more than one team at a time.
It is expected that Mount Pleasant will lose 15 points and 15 goals for five of the six matches they won with the two Haitians on the field.
However, this is not expected to largely affect the final standings, which would see Arnett Gardens topping the standings with 79 points, and Mount Pleasant taking second place with a better goal difference than MoBay, as both teams would end on 78 points.
That would mean Mount Pleasant would still get one of the two automatic semi-final spots, and the quarter-final pairings of MoBay versus Tivoli and Cavalier against Portmore would remain the same.
However, Mount Pleasant could also face further punishment for having more than the stipulated maximum number of international players on a match card at one time, as allegedly happened in their game against Racing United. During that game, Mount Pleasant had seven such players on their team sheet.
English (US) ·