MONTEGO BAY, St James — Warren Barrett has decided not to appeal his five-year ban and $25,000 fine for entering the field of play and assaulting a referee during a Western Masters League return-leg semi-final game at Jarrett Park on July 25.

It is understood that Barrett, who was acting in the capacity as coach of the Violet Tourers team, changed his mind about appealing the decision that was arrived at last Tuesday following a meeting of the St James Football Association’s Disciplinary Committee at the Montego Bay Cricket Club.

Barrett had given verbal notice of his intention to appeal the decision and had until Thursday afternoon to do so, but up to yesterday, the St James FA had not received any written appeal, along with the fee.

General secretary of the St James FA, Bruce Gaynor, told the Sunday Observer yesterday that they were yet to receive any appeal from either Barrett or his teammate Phillip Wong, who was also banned and fined for his part in the incident.

In a strange twist, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) reinstated Barrett as national goalkeeper coach the day after the decision was handed down.

The local governing body had suspended Barrett the day after the incident while demanding a swift investigation by the St James FA.

Barrett, a former national goalkeeper who was captain of the Reggae Boyz team during their historic campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Finals, was found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute after attacking referee Donat McKenley early in the second half of the game.

The report submitted by Match Commissary Bryan Miller and which the panel accepted, said Barrett, who had been verbally abusive towards the officials throughout the first half of the match against Hanover Masters, went onto the field of play and assaulted McKenley.

Miller’s report said that about 10 minutes into the second half the Violet Tourers players appealed for what they thought was a penalty, which was overruled by McKenley.

The referee, it was heard, then approached the Violet Tourers bench, at which time Barrett “took two steps forward which took him unto the playing field” as both men came face to face, inches apart from each other.

In his report, the Match Commissary said he saw Barrett head-butt McKenley, the shorter of the two, then grab his fingers and bend them backwards, at which time both men got entangled and had to be separated by players from both teams.

Barrett was reported to have suffered a cut on his nose, it was reported, while McKenley got a cut on his lips and dislocated fingers on his right hand.

The game, the first of a triple-header at the venue, was blown off following the incident and games between Premier League team Village United and Reno and the national senior team against a St James all-star team were abandoned.