JPL to resume Wednesday after referee strike

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Jamaica Premier League is expected to resume on Wednesday following the strike action by referees that saw the postponement of the first set of games in the third round of the competition, set for Sunday and Monday.

A release from Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) - organisers of the competition- on Tuesday, said the issues that had caused the games to be postponed have been “resolved” and the competition would resume with one game on Wednesday and six on Thursday.

"The Jamaica Premier League is the heartbeat of football in our country, impacting countless lives and livelihoods. We extend our sincere apologies to the fans and all those affected by the postponements last match weekend. Rest assured, we are committed to ensuring such interruptions do not reoccur," Chris Williams, chairman of PFJL, was quoted in the release to have said.

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts and Valdin Ledgister, president of the Jamaica Football Referees Association ((JFRA), were also quoted in the release expressing their delight in the resolution of the issues and the subsequent restart of the competition.

It is understood that the match officials stayed away from games set for Sunday and Monday as they had not received payment for games done in the first two rounds of the competition.

Reports are that “just under $8 million” was owed to the referees.

-Paul A Reid