The 2013-14 St James Football Association’s club season ground to an ignoble ending two Sundays ago on a damp and cool night at Jarrett Park in Montego Bay, with Reggae Youths, one finalist in the Sandals/ATL/Honda Senior League, refusing the referee’s orders to retake the field and resume the game.

The game was held up for about 20 minutes just before the 60 minute- mark, when an interruption in the electrical power supply knocked out some of the already dim bulbs in the four pylons installed at the park. After waiting what seems a reasonable time to give the lights a chance to come back on, the referee signalled for a restart, but only one team, Violet Kickers, took the field. The game was subsequently blown off.

The St James Football Association’s Competitions Committee met a few days later and awarded the title to Violet Kickers, who will now advance to the Western Confederation Super League, while sending Reggae Youths to face the Disciplinary Committee.

It is hoped that a suitable message will be sent that teams cannot take things in their own hands, especially in what is supposed to be the grand finals after a long season. This could have been a ‘black eye’ to the FA had all the sponsors for the three competitions present at the game. If they had, then the FA would have been even more embarrassed, as no arrangements had been made to accommodate them.

The customary tent and the public address system were absent as well as the customary festive atmosphere associated with such a final.

There were some symmetry to the season ending like a wet squib, as the St James FA season limped from one questionable incident to the next.

There were complaints that one player managed to represent two different clubs during the season, one in the Division One and the other in the Senior League, but somehow it appeared the FA was unable to even start an investigation.

The finalists in the Division One were made to wait nearly a month after the semi-finals to decide the title, while Little Miami managed somehow to have no fewer than four games near the end of the Senior League and were able to get into the semi-finals.

Then, there was the uncertainty about whether Montego Bay United Under -21 were eligible for the semi-finals. As an invited team, one that was placed in the competition at the behest of the JFF, after the National Under- 21 was scrapped, the team did not gain promotion through the lower leagues.

Somehow, it just appeared there were way too many loose ends that made for an untidy season, and while there have been many advancements made over the years, seasons like the one just ended can erode all the strides that have been made.