MONTEGO BAY, St James — Bruce Gaynor, the second vice-president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has expressed surprise at yesterday’s six-month ban of JFF president Captain Horace Burrell handed down by FIFA.

Burrell was one of several Caribbean Football Union (CFU) executives that were suspended for between 30 days and 18 months for their roles in the ongoing bribery investigation.

FIFA says three months of Burrell’s ban from all football duties will be deferred for a probationary period of two years.

As acting president of CFU, however, Burrell was the highest profiled executive but has always maintained his and the JFF’s innocence in the scandal that had wrecked regional football for several months.

FIFA’s move came days after audio from an amateur video highlighted former CFU and CONCACAF president Jack Warner of Trinidad offering advice to CFU delegates about taking the bribe from former FIFA presidential hopeful Mohamed bin Hammam at a meeting held in Trinidad in May.

When contacted yesterday, Gaynor who was a part of the JFF delegation to the meeting where the US$40,000 payments were offered, appeared not be certain of the next step.

“We just got the news,” he told the Observer and said while he was certain that a meeting would be called to sort out the local administration, said he had not been contacted up to then.

Gaynor admitted the news came as a shock. “I was not aware that Captain was under any investigations, so of course this news is a surprise,” he told the Observer.

Under the JFF constitution, first vice-president Dale Spencer would take over the running of the JFF until Burrell’s ban is lifted.