Rangers forward and prospective Jamaica international, Kemar Roofe, has seen an appeal to reduce a four-match UEFA competition ban rejected, after an egregious tackle on Slavia Prague goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar.

The incident happened during Rangers' 2-0 Europa League defeat, at the hands of the Czech side, back in March.  Roofe was given a straight red card after firmly planting the bottom of his boots into the face of the keeper as the duo clashed in an aerial duel.

Kolar was left with lacerations and a fractured skull, but Rangers believed the punishment taken against the player was too harsh.  UEFA, however, upheld the decision.

“The appeal lodged by Rangers FC has been dismissed,” the release read.

“Consequently, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body's (CEDB) decision of 13 April 2021 is confirmed,” it continued.

 “The CEDB had decided to suspend Rangers FC player, Mr. Kemar Roofe, for four (4) UEFA club competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible, for dangerously assaulting another player.”

The UK-born Roofe, who is believed to be in the process of securing documentation to represent the Jamaican national team, will miss the start of Rangers’ Champions League qualifying bid, which kicks off on August 3.

Defending champions Edwin Allen hold a 12-point lead over St. Jago High after 14 finals on day two of the 2021 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Kingston College failed to add to their point tally but still hold a sizeable lead over their rivals.

The Clarendon-based juggernaut began the day on 71 points, trailing both Hydel, who 76 points and leaders St Jago High on 81. However, Edwin Allen picked up 10 points in the early exchanges in the Class I shot put competition where Monifa Allen picked up seven points for finishing second with a throw of 12.79m and her teammate Daveina Watson got three more for her sixth-place finish after throwing 11.88m.

Rusea’s High School’s Leonie Samuels won the gold medal with her put of 13.21m while St Jago’s Kayla Davis-Edwards won the bronze with her effort of 12.67m.

At the conclusion of the event, St Jago had 87 points but Edwin Allen had climbed into second place with 81 points. Hydel remained on 76 points.

Meanwhile, Edwin Allen picked up an additional six points when Toniann Allen jumped 5.22m in the Class 4 long jump that was won by Natrilia Campbell of Wolmer’s Girls, who leapt out to a mark of 5.42m. Rihanna Campbell of St Catherine High was the silver medalist having jumped 5.40m.

The defending champions then extended their lead over St Jago when Rashida Samuels cleared 1.73m to win the Class 2 Girls High Jump to defeat Malaika Cunningham of Wolmer’s who cleared 1.70m for the silver medal and Anishka McDonald of Vere Technical who claimed the bronze with 1.65m.

The Class 2 discus was won by Cedricka Williams of Holmwood Technical who established a new record of 47.04m breaking the record of 46.69m set by Vere’s Marie Forbes in 2018.

Damali Williams of Edwin Allen won the silver medal with her best mark of 43.72m while Brittanie Johnson of Camperdown secured the bronze medal throwing 42.32m.

At the conclusion of that competition, Edwin Allen had amassed 108 points to St Jago’s 96. Hydel was further back in third on 82 points. Wolmer’s are in fourth place on 42 points while Holmwood Technical lies fifth with 30.50 points.

Kingston College remained atop the standings despite failing to add to their overnight points tally in the only boys' final today.

The Class 2 long jump was the only boys final on Wednesday and St Jago used the opportunity to close the gap on the leaders as Balvin Israel gave the St. Catherine-based school nine valuable points when he leapt 7.32m to claim victory.

His victory has St Jago on 40 points, just 15 behind KC.

Amari Officer of St George’s College took the silver medal with his jump of 7.16m while Nathan Wade of Calabar was third with 7.13m.

The third-place points mean Calabar ended the day on 37 points. St Elizabeth Technical and Jamaica College as 30 points for joint fourth place.

West Indies legend, Viv Richards, has called on talented young batsman Shimron Hetmyer to take a more mature approach to cricket, in order to realise and maximise his full potential.

In the same breath, the iconic former batsman fondly referred to as the ‘Master Blaster,’ believes any failure by the player to do so would be a great loss not just to the West Indies, but the sport as a whole.

The 24-year-old Guyanese-born batsman has been in the spotlight recently, after failing to secure an international retainer contract from Cricket West Indies (CWI).  Long-touted as one of the region’s premier talents, Hetmyer has had a disappointing period, missing out on several appearances for the West Indies and twice failing a fitness test.

“You’ve got to put in the work [because] if you take half measure, then you are going to get half measure results for sure. Shortcuts in this particular profession are of no substance and I am not sure if what I am saying here now will get to him at some point, but the individual is a talented individual and there are times when I see him on the field and he is pretty playful like he is still a kid and he actually has to be a little more mature at this stage now,” Richards told the Antigua Observer.

 “The guy has got too much talent and I think that if this talent goes to waste, it would be a huge loss, not just maybe to himself but to world cricket on a whole,” he added.

Hetmyer, who has played all three formats for the West Indies, last appeared for the team in a T20I series against New Zealand last year.  He has, however, not played One Day International Cricket since January of last year and has not played a Test match since November of 2019.

“If he really wants to make this sport his profession and to get the maximum result that everyone feels he has in him in terms of the talent then he has got to really start looking at himself in the mirror and start to think. I think he is [24 years old] now, so he has got to be serious. When you hear some of the stuff like they fail a fitness test and all that sort of stuff then that is just totally unprofessional.”

The JAAA has secured at least one international race for Jamaica’s men’s 4x100m relay squad as they attempt to a secure spot at the Tokyo Olympics later this year.

A Jamaican quartet will race at a World Athletics Continental Tour track and field meet to be held at Prairie View, Houston, Texas on May 25.

“So far Nigeria and Canada are down to compete in the race,” said JAAA General Secretary Marie Tavares. “But we understand that I least one other team will be involved.”

Jamaica is provisionally qualified in 11th position with the top 16 teams to be accepted into the relay pool at the Olympics. That qualifying time (38.15) was achieved in the semifinals of the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, 2019. 

The need for a race escalated after Jamaica was forced to withdraw from the IAAF World Relays which took place in Poland last weekend.

 This past weekend, a team of Asafa Powell, Julian Forte, Yohan Blake and Oshane Bailey posted a time of 38.33, the second-fastest in the world this year.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced that annual retainer contracts have been offered to all 13 members of the existing Senior Panel of Umpires for the new contract period April 1st 2021- March 31st 2022.

The significant reduction in regional cricket in the last contracting period, due to the impact of COVID-19, has resulted in no changes being made to the list of umpires to be offered contracts.

CWI invests annually in the panel of umpires due to their fundamental role in ensuring that the spirit and integrity of cricket is preserved and that the highest possible quality fair play is upheld on the field.  Investing in a broader pool of umpires who can be rewarded for their hard work and application in developing their skills is vital for the health of cricket at all levels.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said, “I am pleased that even in the midst of our financial constraints, CWI will be re-engaging our senior panel of umpires as we recognize and appreciate their important role within the game.  We all hope that there will be increasing amounts of cricket within the region in the months ahead to allow our best umpires to continue their ongoing development.”

The Senior Panel of Umpires being offered retainer contracts is as follows:

CWI’s Senior Panel of Umpires 2021/22: Zahid Bassarath,  Johnathan Blades,  Gregory Brathwaite,  Deighton Butler, Nigel Duguid, Patrick Gustard, Danesh Ramdhanie, Leslie Reifer,  Verdayne Smith, Christopher Taylor, Carl Tuckett, Jacqueline Williams and  Christopher Wright.

During the recent International Home Series between West Indies and Sri Lanka, for the first time, all match officials were of Caribbean origin, due to the ICC temporarily permitting the appointment of locally-based match officials from the Emirates Elite Panel of Match Officials and the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Officials. This was due to the logistics challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One very positive outcome was for Barbadian and West Indies Umpire, Gregory Brathwaite, to officiate in his first Test Match.

Retired Jamaica international, Jobi McAnuff, has officially called time on his professional career, finally pulling the curtains on a journey that has spanned some 20 seasons.

The 31-year-old midfielder, who spent the final year of his career as player-coach for EFL League Two outfit Leyton Orient, played his final game against Carlise, on May 1, which ended in a 3-2 home defeat for Orient.

McAnuff, who also played 32 games for the Jamaica national team, believes the time had simply come to hang up his boots.

“After 20 seasons and nearly 800 career games, the time has finally come to announce my retirement,” McAnuff said via social media platform Instagram.

“It’s been a tough decision, but my body and mind have finally had enough of the rigours of day-to-day football and I definitely feel now is the right time to hang the boots up,” he added.

“I’ve put in a lot of work over the last few years to make sure I was as prepared as I could be for this day and I look forward confidently and excitedly to the next phase of my professional life.”

Despite having taken over as coach for Orient’s final 16 fixtures, while also playing in midfield, McAnuff will not be continuing on as the team’s coach.  Orient finished in 11^th position.

West Indies fast bowler, Alzarri Joseph, admits that getting used to conditions on a debut English County cricket season has been challenging, but that his only true focus remains continuing to improve as a player.

The 24-year-old Joseph, who signed with Worcestershire, for the first seven games of the 2021 County Championship season, has had a fairly solid debut spell so far.

In four games, Joseph has scored 128 runs, with a high score of 61, as a lower-order batsman, and taken 10 wickets.  According to the player, things have, however, not been easy as conditions are very different to the Caribbean.

 “I wouldn’t say it’s been the best or that I am extremely satisfied, but it’s improving as I go along. It’s a lot different to the Caribbean, it’s different conditions in terms of different grounds, different types of surfaces, and different types of players, so it’s also about adjusting to everything at once.  It’s helping me to improve as a player in terms of adjusting to situations a bit quicker,” Alzarri told the Antigua Observer.

“Some days you turn up and it’s like three degrees and very cold in the mornings and then it goes from three to 12 degrees, to 15 and then back down to three. So, it’s just really difficult sometimes, but it’s all part of the job.  All part of the learning experience,” he added.

Joseph signed up with the league last month, following the West Indies series against Sri Lanka.

For the second year running the CARIFTA Games have been cancelled.

The 49th edition of the games that were scheduled to be held in Bermuda in August, was cancelled because the host country was not willing to amend its Covid-19 regulations to accommodate athletes arriving for competition.

According to the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC), they arrived at the decision to cancel as the Government of Bermuda maintained that the 14-day quarantine for unvaccinated visitors is non-negotiable, making it highly impractical for there to be an Under-17 category as is the norm and for NACAC to stage the region’s premier junior track and field meet.

Carifta 2020 was not staged because of the global pandemic and Bermuda transferred its hosting responsibilities to 2021. Originally scheduled for Easter weekend, this year’s edition was first postponed to July 2-4 and then to August 13-15. Now, Carifta 2021 has been struck from the NACAC calendar.

“The NACAC Council regrets the decision to cancel Carifta 2021. For the second year running, young, hard-working athletes have been denied the opportunity to represent their respective territories at the world’s premier junior track and field competition,” said a statement from the association.

“To the region’s young athletes, keep training. For those who are eligible for the July 9-11 NACAC U18 & U23 Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, we encourage you to maintain focus on this competition.”

Tyra Gittens believes things are falling into place for another great performance in the heptathlon at this weekend’s SEC Championships. Her confidence would have been further buoyed by encouraging performances at the Aggie Invitational at Bryan-College Station in Texas on Saturday.

Briana Williams is very satisfied with her outing at the USATF Golden Games in California yesterday.

Sir Curtly Ambrose said while he fully endorses regional players plying their trade across the world to secure their financial futures, he believes those players should equally make themselves available to play for the West Indies.

There have been several instances in the past few years where players have declined invitations to represent the West Indies but then jet off to destinations across the globe to play in T20 tournaments.

The issue was brought into sharp focus recently when several West Indies players declined to tour Bangladesh citing the pandemic and their related safety concerns. However, some of those players later went on to play for T20 franchises in countries that were also experiencing spikes in the number of Covid-19 infections.

During an interview on Talk Sports Live with Michael Bascombe on Saturday, the West Indies bowling icon, said the players need to do a better job of striking a balance between playing franchise cricket and representing the West Indies.

“The game has evolved. There is a lot more cricket being played now and many different T20 tournaments around the globe and there’s lots more money as well, so guys are going to go where the money is and I have no issues with that,” Ambrose said.

“A cricket career can be a very short one, once you have injury it could be all over for you so with guys going around plying their trade with different franchises making money to set themselves up financially, I have no issues with it.

“However, I think it needs to strike a balance somewhere because most of these guys who are playing their trade around the world, it’s because they played for the West Indies team why people saw them and gave them contracts. So for me, you need to find a balance somewhere where you can give back to West Indies cricket. You need to give back to West Indies cricket at some point as opposed to abandoning West Indies cricket.”

This is not the first time that Ambrose has expressed these sentiments.

In December 2020, he publicly criticized Andre Russell, who after declined an invitation to play for the West Indies against New Zealand but later went to play in the Sri Lanka Premier League T20 tournament.

Chief selector Roger Harper told media that Russell declined the West Indies invitation citing the need to clear his mind after being in quarantine lockdown for both the Caribbean Premier League in Trinidad and Tobago where he played for the Jamaica Tallawahs franchise and then, the Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi where he played for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Ambrose poured cold water on the explanation.

“Because he wants to clear his head for a while to get his mind together, I have no problem with that because cricket is a high-pressure game,” he said.

“So if you want to clear your head for a while, take your mind off cricket I have no issues with that, but if you are going to reject playing for your nation, your country, and then two weeks later you’re playing for somebody else, that to me is a no-no.”

Seattle Sounders continued their strong start to the MLS season by edging Portland Timbers as former Manchester United team-mates Phil Neville and Gabriel Heinze oversaw the Inter Miami-Atlanta United draw.

Raul Ruidiaz and Fredy Montero scored second-half goals to lead in-form Seattle past hosts Portland 2-1 at Providence Park on Sunday.

After a goalless opening half, the Timbers had a golden chance to open the scoring from the spot within 10 minutes of the restart when Shane O'Neill was penalised for a foul on Jeremy Ebobisse.

Diego Valeri's first attempt was saved by Stefan Frei but a retake was needed after the Sounders goalkeeper came off his line too early, though the former's second effort glanced off the post.

As the penalty hit the woodwork without Frei touching it, the rebound did not count in Portland.

Seattle star Ruidiaz then broke the deadlock with a penalty of his own just past the hour-mark, having been fouled by Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella.

Montero doubled the lead with 11 minutes remaining before a stunning Bill Tuiloma free-kick in the 94th minute proved nothing more than a consolation for Portland.

The Sounders top the Western Conference by a point as the Timbers sit second bottom with three points from four matches.

Inter Miami and Atlanta played out a 1-1 draw as Neville and Heinze reunited at DRV PNK Stadium.

Neville and Heinze spent a season together at Premier League giants United in 2004-05.

Now head coaches of Inter Miami and Atlanta respectively, Neville and Heinze shared the touchline as the two teams split the points.

Josef Martinez's ninth-minuter opener for Atlanta was cancelled out by Inter Miami's Lewis Morgan 13 minutes from the end.

In the day's other match, Sporting Kansas City scored two goals in the final eight minutes to rally past expansion side Austin 2-1.