Anderson still seeking answers over JFF president’s eligibility
RAYMOND ANDERSON, who faces off against incumbent Michael Ricketts i n today’s Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) election at the Royalton resort in Negril, Hanover, is still seeking answers in regard to Ricketts’ alleged breaches of the FIFA ethics code a few years ago.
In 2020 the Investigatory Chamber of t he FIFA Ethics Committee acknowledged receiving a request for an investigation to be launched into the conduct of the JFF president on the grounds that he may have breached its Code of Ethics.
Courtney McFarlane had written to the FIFA’s Ethics Committee and general secretary Fatma Samoura, requesting they investigate Ricketts’ ethics breach of section 22 of the FIFA code, which deals with discrimination and defamation.
Sanctions for such an offence include a fine of US$11,000 as well as a ban on taking part in any football-related activity for a maximum of two years.
Section 22 states that: Persons bound by this code are forbidden from making any public statements of a defamatory nature towards FIFA or towards any other person bound by this code in the context of FIFA events.
The request for investigation stemmed from a default court ruling handed down by Jamaica’s Surpreme Court on September 8, 2017 against Ricketts, who did not contest the charges laid against him by Ainsley Lowe.
Lowe had claimed that the JFF boss used derogatory language in reference to him as he challenged for the Clarendon FA presidency, while speaking on a local radio show in 2016.
The Supreme Court awarded Lowe $9 million in damages.
However, Anderson says to this day FIFA has not responded to any request, including his efforts to get some clarity on this issue.
“We have been asking for clarity on a lot of things from the ethics committee with the Ricketts’ court situation.
“I read the thing all different ways and saw what it says on discrimination. So somebody needs to tell me if we don’t understand what that means.
“The ethics committee is silent on the matter. The FIFA ethics committee and our electoral committee are silent, and we are appealing to FIFA but they are not responding and we sought clarity more than once,” said Anderson.
He added that they all deserve some explanation and he will continue to ask for it until the day of the election.
“FIFA should have at least respond and given us a reason. If they have a reason as the parent body we will have to accept it.
“But I will ask for it and continue to ask for it until the 17th. We will ask FIFA again in an open letter, not as a candidate but as a vice president.
“I want to be clear, so that when I am talking to delegates or parish associations or members of the JFF, I can tell them that is so and this is not.”