The proposal by Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) presidential candidate Craig Butler to offer monetary rewards to parish associations to back his election bid is unethical and amounts to bribery, according to FIFA rules and regulations.

Butler is one of four candidates seeking nomination by tomorrow’s deadline for the Voting Congress to elect a president for the JFF on September 16, 2017. The new president will conclude the remaining two years on the late Captain Horace Burrell’s four-year term. The other candidates are Mike Ricketts, AB Stewart Stephenson and Danny Beckford. A candidate needs the backing of four parish associations to be nominated.

A former high-ranking JFF officer, who spoke to the Jamaica Observer on condition of anonymity, said yesterday: “That offer is unethical and against FIFA rules. Any such offer will be seen as a bribe and against FIFA’s policies and guidelines,” said the man, who served under former president Crenston Boxhill in the mid-2000s.

The former executive quoted FIFA’s rules which state that a gift may be offered only if it is “not intended to influence the execution or omission of any official act performed by or affecting anyone bound by the code”.

The rules are as follows: ‘Rules of Conduct Gifts and other benefits (FCE art. 20 (1)) — You may offer or accept a gift only if ALL of the following conditions are met: The gift has merely symbolic or trivial value; the gift is not intended to influence the execution or omission of any official act performed by or affecting anyone bound by the code; the offer or acceptance is consistent with all of your other duties; the gift does not create any undue pecuniary or other advantage; the offer or acceptance does not create a conflict of interest.

Module II: Rules of Conduct Gifts and other benefits (FCE art. 20 (2)). Cash may never be offered or accepted; this is true regardless of whether the cash is offered to or accepted from someone within FIFA or outside FIFA. The amount of cash offered or accepted is large or small.

In a video posted on Butler’s Facebook page yesterday, he said he would try to “protect” those who wanted to vote for him from intimidation and repercussions from what he described as “the establishment”.

He added: “It has come to my attention that many parishes that want to vote with me are a little bit scared and intimidated because of the possible threats of repercussions of going with Craig Butler by the establishment, so I am saying now publicly to all my parish associations that want to vote for Craig Butler today. I am saying to you now, I am guaranteeing you $3.5 million per year for the next two years in sponsorship to your parish association. yes, I will say it again: $3.5 million per year for the next two years to any parish association that goes with Craig Butler.”

Meanwhile, Raymond Grant, general secretary of the JFF, rubbished the relevance of the offer, telling the Observer from overseas: “I’m not even sure of the relevance of his offer. Our parishes are matured and are against receiving offers in exchange for support.”

Grant added: “The leadership of our parishes knows the football landscape very well and have already concluded on their choice for president.

“If Butler is to be the president they will nominate him before the close of the nomination process. They heard his appeal and are also aware of what he can do. The leadership of the JFF trusts its parish associations and therefore awaits the close of the nomination process,” Grant said.

The former JFF executive, who helped guide the federation through a tough period after Horace Reid stepped aside, said further that any officer of the federation who has been proven to have got votes through offering gifts, the election could be ruled null and void, under FIFA rules.

“This offer makes no sense,” the former top-ranking official told the Observer. “FIFA rules on this are straightforward.”

— Paul Reid