Corner league mayhem

A few years ago, youngsters from one of the new non-traditional high schools from western Jamaica got involved in an argument with some members of a community situated in the same parish as the high school. Within days, and stemming from that quarrel, a youngster was attacked by other teens and shot dead.

Again, in the last couple of years, again in western Jamaica, two youngsters got involved in a heated argument. One used a Magnum bottle to hit the other. He died not too long after. These are facts, not fiction. I have spoken to a detective who was assigned to work both cases. What's the common denominator? Unregulated football corner leagues in that part of the island.

Some of the stuff that goes on at these corner league matches makes scary reading. One referee was forced to pull a 'Cuban' machete from his waist to defend himself against unruly spectators in a game within the last two years!

Why the referee felt the need to so arm himself in the first place is a question I don't think needs to be asked. I know that referees have been beaten in at least four communities in western Jamaica in the last four years, all suffering this punishment because they made unfavourable decisions!

Referees and players are not the only ones who suffer raw violence in these leagues. I know of a politician-sponsored tournament which did not provide the promised prize money. Numerous efforts to get the politician to meet with the winning team failed. Fans took out their wrath on the poor coordinator, savagely beating him.

Many of these leagues are run along political lines, oftentimes unbeknown to the politician. A known Labourite referee can't get too much work in a PNP competition, and vice versa.

That something needs to be done about these unregulated corner league tournaments is stating the obvious. My own informal case study has been with western Jamaica, but there is every reason to think that such trends are typical islandwide.

Volatile communities

Most of these corner leagues take place in communities which are volatile to begin with. The aspiring politician, or a prominent business man, will put up the funds to get the league going, ironically to 'unite' the community. The opposite often happens. These leagues are well supported. Inner-city residents usually love football, and these weekly corner league games provide the best and cheapest form of entertainment for many of them. These residents bring with them passion to these games, but they also bring the propensity to take the law into their own hands - with brutal consequences.

Because a lot of these leagues are run outside the purview of JFF-affiliated bodies, it's a case of 'anything goes' on the discipline front. Sometimes, it's the area don who unofficially manages his community team. He decides who can and cannot play. He decides on the method and severity of sanctions for transgressors. The JFF and its subsidiary bodies are unaware, in many cases, of what's going on. These corner leagues sometimes give the area leader the stage to demonstrate raw power.

No respect for referees

Supposedly bad referee decisions have been the reason for many of these acts of violence over the years. It doesn't help that the referees in these leagues are not usually the best referees around. They usually can't cut it at the top level or are just looking for a chance to earn an extra buck on a Sunday evening. Decisions are never respected, and in tight games where the stakes are high, bloodshed and mayhem may ensue with a bad call.

'Star' ballers are often the cause of many such incidents. Premier league crossover players treat corner league refs with contempt. I know of one case where a star baller stripped off his shirt and walked off the field when an offside call was made against him! The referee who red-cards such a player does so at his own peril! God help the defender who tackles one of these star ballers too hard!

I have been to a lot of these corner league games in the west. They can be a pleasant way to spend a weekend afternoon, but they can also be risky to both life and limb. I am not being dramatic, I'm merely stating the facts. Something needs to be done to make these corner leagues safer. The sooner, the better.

Orville Higgins is a sports journalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.