Ricketts released

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

National goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts is expected to join up with the rest of the Reggae Boyz squad ahead of the Trinidad and Tobago friendly international, having been released by Major League Soccer (MLS) club LA Galaxy.

Initially, it had seemed that there was a confrontation brewing between the MLS outfit and local football's governing body, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), after initial hesitancy on the part of the club to release the player for the encounter. Despite a splendid run of form for LA Galaxy, which saw him recently earning a spot as starting keeper on the MLS All-Star team, Ricketts has not made an appearance for the national team since last year's Gold Cup.

According to the JFF, several requests to have the shot stopper released for a number of friendly internationals since then, a total of six in all, had been turned down for various reasons by the club, a situation that had seen the local body threaten to approach FIFA with a view to having regulation enforced.

Fifa regulations

According to FIFA regulations, "A club holding the registration of a player called up to play in the national team must release him to the national association on the fixed/set dates (FIFA dates) for international matches in each calendar year."

The Jamaica vs Trinidad game, which is set for August 11, will fall on an official FIFA friendly international match date.

"We are happy that a compromise could be reached. At any level of international football, there has to be a certain amount of give and take," head of the JFF, Captain Horace Burrell, told The Gleaner.

"We understand that there are times the player will not be available due to the fact that the club has an important fixture and we are willing to work around that, but cooperation is extremely important."

"However, the situation as it stood had become totally unacceptable and we were not willing to put up with it any longer," Burrell said.

It should be noted that in an unofficial response, officials from LA Galaxy had pointed out that they were well within their rights because of the six previous requests that were made by the JFF for Ricketts, only one fell on a FIFA match date. The official, who could not speak on record due to protocol, noted that the shot stopper was also injured at the point of other call-ups, and that some were made during or close to important fixtures for the club.

Meanwhile, Ricketts will be joined by MLS players Dane Richards of the New York Red Bulls, and Ryan Johnson, who plies his trade for the San José Earthquakes. Rodolph Austin of Norwegian Premier League side SK Brann and Eric Vernan, currently on loan to Nybergsund IL, also in Norway, will be the European additions. Despite the squad missing a number of regular invitees, including Luton Shelton, who recently caught the eye of Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola while playing for Valarenga, Burrell explained that it was part of an evaluation process being carried out by national coach Theodore Whitmore.

The 83rd-ranked Jamaicans will tackle the Trinidadians in Macoya and then prepare to host 49th-ranked Costa Rica at the Office on September 5.