x

Ashton: No Explanation From Jamaica on Leigh - Ipswich Town News

Town CEO Mark Ashton says the Blues are still to hear anything from the Jamaica Football Federation regarding Greg Leigh being called up but ultimately left out of their squad for their CONCACAF Nations League game against Mexico on Sunday.

As reported earlier in the week, Jamaica sent the Blues the documentation relating to his call-up, including travel documents, but when the squad was announced on Monday, the 29-year-old wasn’t included.

Town had already sent the documentation relating to Leigh's call to the authorities as he was the club's third player named in an international squad - along with Wes Burns and Nathan Broadhead who are with Wales - in order to have Saturday’s game at Barnsley postponed.

"From our perspective, there’s nothing strange,” Ashton told TWTD. "We had call-up papers on him, we’ve had plane tickets sent for him.

"That all gets sent to the EFL and the regulatory bodies to make sure that everything’s in order in advance. Everything was confirmed.

"And then we’ve seen that he’s not on the call-up list. We’ve had zero contact from the Jamaican FA, so we’ve had no communication.

"As we stand, the best way to explain this, is that if we have a game on Saturday, he’s unavailable to play. He can’t play. He’s not available to play for us in a competitive fixture.

"That’s it as far as we’re concerned. He has been called up and then he’s not on the sheet and we’ve no explanation on that, we’ve had contact from them.

""It looks very strange from the outside, I can understand that, but I think everyone knows we follow our protocols, we follow the procedure, all the paperwork was sent to the EFL in advance, that’s where it is.”

The Mark Ashton Interview


What to read next:

McKenna: An Inevitable Decision
Town boss Kieran McKenna says it was an ‘inevitable decision’ for referee Stephen Martin to abandon the Blues’ match at Blackburn Rovers and expects to return to Ewood Park to restage the contest.
U21s Beat Chelsea to Hit Top of Table
Town’s U21s hit the top of Premier League 2 following a 4-2 away victory over previous leaders Chelsea at Kingsmeadow this afternoon.
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Ipswich Town - Match Abandoned
Town look set to face a return trip to Blackburn Rovers later in the season after this afternoon’s game was abandoned after 80 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch with the home side 1-0 up and with the Blues down to 10 men. Jacob Greaves was shown a straight red card four minutes after the break for hauling down Yuki Ohashi, then Rovers skipper Todd Cantwell netted a penalty on 59, but the heavy rain had made the game increasingly farcical the longer it progressed and in the 80th minute referee Stephen Martin took the players off and then 25 minutes later abandoned it entirely.
Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Ipswich Town - Half-Time
The Blues’ game at Blackburn Rovers remains 0-0 at half-time at a very rainy Ewood Park.
Blackburn Rovers v Ipswich Town - Chatroom Open
Join us in the chatroom to discuss the game as it unfolds with hundreds of other Town fans.
Town Unchanged at Blackburn
Town have named an unchanged side for this afternoon’s game against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
Blackburn Rovers v Ipswich Town - Predictions
Have you predicted the Blackburn score yet? Eighty three per cent of TWTD members are predicting a Town win this afternoon, 14 per cent a draw and three per cent a home win. The most commonly predicted result is a 2-1 win to Town with Hirst the first scorer but what do you think?
Town Win LMA Performance of the Week Award
Town won the League Managers Association’s Everest Men’s Performance of the Week Award for the 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United last Friday.
[Podcast] Blue Monday - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
Ismael: A Good Challenge to Test Ourselves Against One of the Championship's Top Sides
Blackburn Rovers boss Valerien Ismael says his team’s next step is to record their first home win of the season when the Blues, who he views as one of the top sides in the Championship, visit Ewood Park on Saturday.