Dear Editor,

I have waited to see how a particular issue relating to Jamaica’s football would have been treated — especially by the media. As I expected, there has been almost deafening silence.

The truth is that Captain Horace Burrell, if he were a different kind of individual, would have apologised to the Jamaican people and then resigned as head of the Jamaica Fool Fool (oops Football) Federation, immediately after the Jamaica Panama match at the National Stadium. Yes, the Panama match.

What occurred with the arrangements for access (the gates); and the associated dangers to people’s personal safety, was nothing short of a disgrace.

Jamaica has been hosting matches of this nature for about 15 years and if we have not been able to get this basic aspect right after all this time, then the person responsible should go. There are reports of people with bona fide tickets not being able to get into the stadium; the crush of the crowd was frightening; and there was total disorganisation.

So when contacted in Costa Rica about this, what did the good Captain say: “I am in Costa Rica, but as soon as I get back, I will launch and investigation into this.”

Launch an investigation into what? Who? Himself? He obviously doesn’t get it. He is the one in charge.

Jamaica’s football will go nowhere with Captain Burrell at the helm. What happened after that one shining moment in 1998. Absolutely nothing! What we do is run around every four years begging corporate sponsors to invest huge sums in the train to nowhere.

For me, the poor results we get on the field are predicable so I won’t bother to take him and his coaching staff to task on that. But if you can’t get a simple matter as opening enough gates right, then what are you doing being in charge of the national programme. Captain Burrell needs to do the decent thing. Resign!

But then again, so many Jamaicans have made him believe that without him, there’s no football.

Joseph Senior

josephsenior@ojooo.com