OBLIQUE Seville’s agent, Norman Peart, has dismissed suggestions of a fallout between the reigning 100m world champion and the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), after his withdrawal from Jamaica’s team for this weekend’s World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.

News emerged Sunday that Oblique Seville and Olympic and World Championships silver medallist Kishane Thompson will not travel to Africa for the two-day championships starting Saturday, despite being named as marquee members of the men’s 4x100m relay pool as Jamaica chases automatic qualification for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Beijing.

While it’s believed an injury forced Thompson’s withdrawal, a report surfaced Monday suggesting travel issues prevented Seville from participating, citing that the JAAA was unwilling to cover the full cost of a shorter flight to Botswana.

The Jamaica Observer contacted JAAA President Garth Gayle for a comment on the matter but calls went unanswered up to press time.

However, in a press release on Monday the JAAA rubbished the report, claiming it was “factually inaccurate”.

The release said the issue surrounded the earliest possible date Seville could return to Miami from Botswana to fulfil a contractual obligation.

The JAAA said they informed Peart that the earliest possible date on available flights that would allow him to return to Miami was next Tuesday after 12:00 pm, and couldn’t guarantee an earlier return.

Following those discussions, the JAAA said Peart sent them a written notice last Tuesday that Seville would withdraw from the team and wished the team the best in Botswana.

The JAAA said they “look forward to his future participation as a member of the national team”.

Peart told the Observer that the JAAA’s release was accurate and says Seville is disappointed he won’t be competing for his country this week.

“We had some challenges; we really worked hard to get this done but it couldn’t happen. The logistics coming out of Botswana just could not work. We’ve been at it for a while but it just couldn’t work,” he said.

Peart says there’s no personal issues between Seville and the JAAA, citing the issue as unfortunate.

“We had our challenges but I must say the JAAA really went out of their way to see [if it could be resolved], but the timing and the whole logistics of getting back from Botswana is very challenging and could not work out because he had to get back to the United States — and it’s [something] he cannot miss.”

Seville, who won his first 100m world title at the Tokyo World Championships last year, has never competed at a World Relays but did help them to qualify for the World Championships at last summer’s London Diamond League, after Jamaica failed to complete the two races at the World Relays.

Seville was part of Jamaica’s sprint relay team that failed to medal at the World Championships, after dropping the baton in the heats.

The JAAA hasn’t announced if they will replace Seville and Thompson but will have Ackeem Blake, Rohan Watson and Kadrian Goldson among the 100m stars in the relay pool.

World 100m champion Oblique Seville (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Ackeem Blake (left) hands off to Oblique Seville during the men’s 4x100m relays heat at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, last summer. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Kishane Thompson will miss the World Athletics Relay Games in Gaborone, Botswana, this weekend due to a reported injury. (Photo: AFP)

PEART…we had some challenges; we really worked hard to get this done but it couldn’t happen.