Aston Villa star banned after squad selection confusion

Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey has been suspended indefinitely from the Jamaica national team after refusing to play in the Copa America despite being selected for Heimir Hallgrimsson’s squad.

The 26-year-old was a surprise addition to the team, having been vocal in his criticism of the Jamaica Football Association since last year, when he explained why he was taking an indefinite break from the national team. He has not played for Jamaica since last November, in a match against Canada.

“A lot of people, from my point of view, haven’t really thought about what it’s like for me as Leon Bailey to play for a national team that is nowhere near England in terms of professionalism or anything like that. I’m used to a professional lifestyle,” Bailey told the Let’s Be Honest podcast in March.

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“A lot of people don’t know that I usually book my own flights to represent Jamaica because they (the federation) are very unprofessional. You get your flight details sent to you at 11pm before you have to leave the next day.

“The Jamaican national team doesn’t pay me. I can’t remember the last time I got a dollar from the Jamaican national team,” he added. “It’s very unprofessional, in a way you can’t even imagine.”

Jamaica are out of the Copa America after losing their first two group matches against Mexico and Ecuador. Several Premier League stars have appeared for the Reggae Boyz at the tournament, including West Ham’s Michail Antonio and Fulham’s Bobby Decordova-Reid.

When asked about Bailey’s situation and the reason for his call-up, Jamaica coach Halgrimsson told Halftime TV: “In his case, he has decided not to play for Jamaica. That is his decision and every player has the right to refuse to play for the nation and he has chosen to do so. For me, that is the end of the story.”

When Bailey was added to the team, his adoptive father and agent Craig Butler described the situation as “misleading” and quickly set the record straight. JFF General Secretary Dennis Chung has since stated that the organisation’s decision to suspend Bailey was for “clarity”.

A statement from the JFF on June 26 read: “The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has decided to temporarily suspend the nomination of Leon Bailey for the men’s national team. This decision has been taken in light of recent circumstances surrounding his comments and his non-participation in the team for the 2024 Copa America despite being nominated.

“His explicit wish to take a break from his national team duties was also taken into account and the suspension of his selection is intended to prevent further misunderstandings. The JFF values ​​the contributions of all players and respects their individual decisions regarding participation in the national team.”

Chung added: “We think it is important to do this and the player has also stated that he is unavailable. To ensure there are no further misunderstandings, we thought it was best to suspend his selection until we have cleared everything up,” Chung said. “We also told the player to write to us when he is ready so that we cannot misinterpret anything,” Chung explained.

“We are complying with the player’s wish to take a break from his national team duties. We could not give the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee a timetable. Also, we did not want to give the player a timetable. So the timetable would be when he writes to us and explains that he is available now.

“We just have to do what is best for football. I think that will help because it will provide clarity. One of the challenges we have had in the past is that there has been no clarity. If you don’t do that, you will never get to a better place.”

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