To the JIFL managers
This is an open letter to inform everyone of my interpretation what transpired last Saturday, 14 November at Global Jaya International School in a game between Lions and Arario (Korea).
This is an open letter to inform everyone of my interpretation what transpired last Saturday, 14 November at Global Jaya International School in a game between Lions and Arario (Korea).
In the 15th minute of the second half the Korean team walked off the field and refused to start again. At this stage the Lions were leading 2 – 1. Up until this point there had been a lot verbal interaction, especially when a free kick was given to the Lions. On these occasions several Korean players would surround the referee complaining. Fortunately for the referee, most of his decisions were in the favour of the Korean team, so they could definitely not feel hard done by the referee. Overall the game was very clean in terms of no bad fouls from either team.
So the decision to quit the game in the second half was somewhat of a suprise for the referee, the Lions and also many of the Korean players themselves. The ball had gone behind the goal for a goal kick to the Lions. Our goal keeper, Sakai, retrieved the ball and walked back to take the kick. Some Korean players began to complain to the referee that the goal keeper was time wasting. The referee then indicated to them he was stopping his watch. Then one of the players from the sideline called the rest of the players off the field. It was obvious to me that many of the Korean team did not want to leave the field at this point. But they did.
A statement was made by one of the Korean players when asked why they left the field..”We came here to play, not fight”. I want to make it very clear that there was no fighting in the match and, as i mentioned earlier, the game was quite clean in nature.
What should be quite a laughable situation, unfortunately, is not. I will be interested to hear from the JIFL chairperson as to what outcomes will follow.
Regards
Richard Henry
Richard Henry
Right. First of all, let’s keep cool heads and allow the managers and captains to discuss this issue at the next meeting in early January. Then, if needed, they will all vote and decide what is the next best step for the league. Voting over emails is not an option until it is written into the league rules as an acceptable option. If you have seen the most recent blog comments lately then you will have noticed that our public is turning on us and questioning the integrity of the league leadership. There are questions about who is in charge. Read the last comments on the most recent JIFL Newsletter.
Seems like Arario has one guy who succesfully intimidates everyone in the team. He dedides when to play, when to leave the pitch etc. And the rest are too scared to stand up against him….?