OFFICIALS PULL PLUG

Although referees assigned to the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League (JPL) are feeling “disrespected” due to salaries owed to them, stakeholders are hopeful an amicable agreement can stave off further delay of the competition.

Jamaica Football Referees Association (JFRA) President Valdin Legister and Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Owen Hill say they are keen to reach an understanding in the next 24 hours in order for the JPL to resume after Sunday’s matches were called off.

On Sunday morning, head of competitions at the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Ian Kemble advised the clubs and respective stakeholders that the seven games scheduled for Sunday would be postponed “due to the unavailability of referees.”

The Jamaica Observer has learnt that referees took the decision on Friday that they would not turn up for the games due to their dissatisfaction with salaries owed to them by the PFJL, who has oversight of the JPL.

This newspaper has learnt that close to 50 referees have not paid since the start of 2025 and are currently owed around $8 million. A source familiar with the situation said strike action had been brewing since October due to an apparent change in the scheduling of payments to the referees.

Speaking to the Observer on Sunday, Legister confirmed the referees’ dissatisfaction, revealing a compromise wasn’t met prior to the afternoon’s games.

“We have been trying to communicate with the organisers to say something is looming. Unfortunately, they didn’t communicate soon enough. An emergency meeting was held on Saturday night to remedy the situation but no amicable solution was reached, so we are where we’re at,” he said.

Legister says the referee’s frustrations around the lack of communication from the PFJL ultimately led to the unavailability.

“To the best of my knowledge, nothing was communicated. Efforts were made to get paid, e-mails were sent but there were no response to the e-mails so that’s what caused the issue,” he said.

Legister says the referees have been continuously mistreated by the relevant bodies and can no longer tolerate the situation.

“Bigger than the payment, it’s the disregard that has been shown to the referees over the years, so referees have been asked to go into their pockets to subsidise servicing the league and it can’t continue. Referees are now financially drained and as a result, they were unable to get to the games [on Sunday] because they don’t have the resources,” he said.

Hill wouldn’t be drawn into the details of the referees’ action but says he remains hopeful that the situation can be resolved quickly, denying any strained relationship with the referees.

“Let me make it clear, we actually have a very open communication channel between ourselves and the referees. We aren’t the ones responsible for scheduling and competitions management but we always have that discussion,” he told the Observer.

“I suspect it’s going to continue in the same way, we have an emergency board discussion later [on Sunday] evening and hopefully some agreements can be made thereafter.”

Another seven matches are scheduled for this Wednesday and Thursday and Legister wants a resolution before Tuesday.

“There was a meeting on Saturday and there were consultations today, not with the PFJL but with relevant stakeholders that can, I guess, address the situation. Hopefully there will be one [today] and we can come to an agreement,” said Legister.

This season, the league which has been extended to an unprecedented 39 regular season games from its typical 26, has been plagued with several issues regarding the scheduling of games and Hill says this latest postponement provides a new challenge.

“It’s a little tough because it means we have to reorganise because there is still the constraint of time. We just have to get back to proverbial drawing board and review how the schedule will look going forward and hopefully all the solutions are found between now and that time,” Hill said.

The Observer has learnt that this evening’s match between Arnett Gardens and Dunbeholden at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex could go ahead if an agreement is reached before 3:00 pm.

There are 13 match weeks left in the regular season schedule before the start of the play-offs. However, several games in those match weeks could be postponed due to Cavalier’s ongoing participation in the Concacaf Champions Cup.