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Garel disappointed but awaits trial
March 14, 2024
Beach Soccer Jamaica (BSJ) president Pat Garel is disappointed with yesterday's Court of Appeal ruling, which denied them an injunction for Sunday's Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) elections.
The BSJ is fighting for the organisation to be accepted by the JFF as the true representative of beach football in the country. This would allow BSJ voting rights over Beach Football Jamaica Limited (BFJL) at the voting congress of the JFF, which accepted BFJL.The BSJ sought the injunction's reinstatement, which was removed after 28 days, blocking the original elections, scheduled for January 14.
However, the court ruling against Garel's organisation means elections will proceed as planned on Sunday.
"My belief in the justice system has been severely dented because of what happened.
"The judges have taken Dennis Chung's argument that nobody was qualified before us sending an application and that any relationship with the JFF before that was null and void and of no importance. I seriously beg to differ," she said.
"Our invitation to the (beach soccer) Congress in September nullified any such argument.
"Now we won't have a say at the elections, but it begs the question when the court hearing takes place on the 23rd (April), and we believe we shall win, what will be the status of the elections if Michael Ricketts wins. If that is the case, then the elections should be ruled null and void."
Yesterday, the court handed down three rulings. These were the dismissal of the appeal; upholding the February 24 ruling, which dismissed the original injunction; and awarding cost to JFF, which means the BSJ will have to reimburse the federation for all related costs.
JFF general secretary Dennis Chung stated they were always confident.
"We are happy with the outcome. We have always done the right thing regarding the constitutional provisions. Now we can move ahead and have the election Sunday."
"We were always moving ahead, and everybody in the JFF is happy to be moving towards the elections on Sunday," Chung said.
