Elton Tucker, Asst. Editor-Sport

Boys' Town's coach Andrew Price: we are going to take legal action. - file

FORMER national football champions Boys' Town must play their next two Wray and Nephew National Premier League home games away from Collie Smith Drive.

In a release yesterday, the Jamaica Football Federation said the club's ground had been suspended for the next two home games following the shooting incident outside the venue on Wednesday, January 3. Boys' Town and Reno of Westmoreland had just resumed after the half-time break when a barrage of shots forced players, team and match officials and two police officers to either scamper for safety or to lie flat on the football field. The teams were locked at 0-0. According to the release, the JFF's competitions committee took the decision, after taking into consideration the reports of the match commissary in addition to verbal reports given by Stephen Bell, administrator, and Cedric Robinson of Boys' Town Football Club.

Replayed

The remaining 43 minutes of the game will be replayed at a neutral venue.

Contacted yesterday Andrew Price, coach of Boys' Town, was in a defiant mood.

"We are going to take legal action," Price said. "Our incident, while not a positive image, has happened before at other clubs and I think a precedent is now being set. Secondly, we were not allowed proper representation or hearing. So we are going to take legal counsel and the media will be advised."

Price, who has just returned to the island from a two-week trip abroad, said Boys' Town were not properly advised of the hearing on the incident.

"We heard from somebody at the JFF that they were having a meeting and somebody went up there. We were not told that there was a meeting. ... If you are going to have a hearing to pass verdict on what took place last week Wednesday, at least allow the club to have proper legal representation and we are going to get that," Price said.

According to reports on the day of the match, Boys' Town officials had described the shooting as 'just an internal war between gang and gang', but Reno officials, citing security concerns, refused to continue the game after spending almost 10 minutes on the ground shielding their heads with chairs.

The JFF competitions committee also advised Boys' Town to sensitise its spectators about the negative repercussions that could affect the club for any act that disrupts a game.

Boys' Town's next scheduled home game is against August Town next Sunday, January 14.