A meeting which was planned for yesterday between the hierarchy of the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) did not happen.

Both parties — headed by PLCA chairman Edward Seaga and JFF boss Captain Horace Burrell — were due to discuss the burning topic of the contracts that have been issued to senior national players.

At press time last evening, it was not clear what caused the cancellation of the well-publicised meeting which was to take place in Ocho Rios yesterday morning.

Observer sources have said the meeting was called by Seaga, whose body appeared up-in-arms with the JFF for the perceived high-handedness in the handling of the new contractual arrangements with the senior Reggae Boyz, which the former “believes to be in violation of the players’ rights”.

In a press release on Tuesday, the PLCA — a body comprising the 12 Digicel Premier League clubs — had deemed the JFF stance on the contract issue “ill-considered and devious attempt by the JFF to hijack the rights of the players”.

It was reported that the PLCA, acting on their behalf, had met with 16 local-based representatives of the national team who, it was claimed, expressed concerns with the contracts and the position of the JFF that they would not be allowed to don the national colours until they conform.

“The players expressed their deep concern about the decision of the JFF that players who refused to sign an agreement issued by the JFF would not be invited to play for Jamaica,” the PLCA release said.

The release sought to highlight a portion of the contract that addressed remuneration. “The agreement requires the players to give up their rights to the JFF as well as to reduce their competition win bonus from 80 per cent to 50 percent,” Tuesday’s press statement said in part.

“Provisions for objection to these draconian, one-sided arrangements follow the same dictatorial pattern in that the final decision against any of the JFF requirements would be made by the JFF alone,” the PLCA release added.

The JFF was also accused of “bullying” the players to sign the contracts, a charge strongly denied by general secretary Horace Reid.

Following a meeting of the JFF board of directors in Montego Bay last week, it was decided that all senior members — some 40 of them — are required to sign and return newly-developed contracts by December 30 if they hope to continue playing for the country.

The decision to issue these four-year contracts, which represent “the life of the administration”, was in response to an ultimatum issued to the JFF by the players at the just-concluded Digicel Caribbean Cup in Martinique.

The team, through captain Shavar Thomas, Luton Shelton, Jermaine Taylor and Rodolph Austin, had rejected the JFF’s offer of US$500 ($43,000) in total per diem and demanded instead US$1,200 (J$103,000) for the 12-day tournament.

They also demanded 80 per cent of whatever prize money they received, which turned out to be the winning bounty of US$120,000 ($10.2 million), or they would not “lace up” for the next game.

The JFF yielded to the demands.

In an effort to head off a repeat of the Martinique incident, the JFF drafted the new contracts, which Reid called “reasonable and attractive all things considered”.