Leon Bailey was supposed to make his debut for Jamaica on Sunday but instead the Bayer Leverkusen winger ended up pulling out for the strangest reason. He could be back next month for them though.
Before the World Cup rumours started doing the rounds that Gareth Southgate could call up Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey for the World Cup despite the youngster having not previously been mentioned as a possibility for the Three Lions.
In the end Bailey, to the surprise on literally no one, wasn't included in Southgate's squad that ended up making the World Cup semi final, which was a surprise to most of us.
Mainly the 21 year old wasn't called up because he wasn't actually eligible for England's national team, which is a sticking point unless you're Tony Cascarino. However the winger still hasn't made his debut for Jamaica.
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He's played for the side's under 23s before but not the senior team. That was supposed to change on Sunday in their CONCACAF League of Nations game against Bonaire but Bailey pulled out late on.
It's all to do with an issue with his brother. Bailey wanted his sibling to make his debut for Jamaica at the same time but their FA wanted Kyle Butler to do a trial. Bailey spoke to The Gleaner saying:
"Obviously, I came to Jamaica because of the international call-up.
"I did agree to come based on the agreement we had. But when I got here, it was a totally different scenario. They didn't keep their end (of the deal), therefore, I decided not to play this game.
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"I am here for one reason: to represent the country. But they didn't keep their end. Once they are willing to do that, I am ready to put on the national team jersey."
Butler recently agreed a move to Austrian first division side LASK, joining them next year, and Bailey believes that he's already of the standard to play for Jamaica.
It seems they'd promised to pick him but then backed out of that and wanted to undergo a trial first, whatever that entails at international level, before picking him.
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The Bundesliga player revealed he could play for the 'Reggae Boyz' in November adding, "By this November, if they are willing to go ahead with whatever we've asked of them, I'll be ready to represent my country. It (Kyle's snub by the JFF), is a big part of it. I need players who can understand me. You can't expect me to jump in a system and expect it to work. I need help. I am a winner, a Phoenix, and I don't like losing, so I need people who I know are capable of making things happen,"
Let's hope for everyone's sake it's sorted soon.
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