Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Harbour View's Claudette Walker, the player accused of stabbing Olympic Gardens goalkeeper Lotoya Reid in the head with a sharp instrument following a Women's Premier League match last week, has been slapped with a five-year ban by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).

Walker, now 25, is not a starter for Harbour View and so the ban has in effect ended her playing career.

The decision comes following a meeting of the JFF's disciplinary committee, which met at the organisation's head office yesterday. Both players, along with Olympic Gardens' Tuwana Thompson, have been on suspension since a meeting of the competition's committee one week ago.

For her role in the incident, custodian Reid was suspended for eight matches and fined $1,000, while her teammate, Tuwana Thompson, received a six-match ban and is required to pay an identical sum.

Heated verbal exchange

According to eyewitness reports reaching The Gleaner, the incident started during the August 15 encounter when Walker tackled the custodian and was fended off. It is alleged that Walker approached Reid after the game and following a heated verbal exchange, was pushed away by Reid, which led to a scuffle.

Sometime during the incident, Reid is said to have removed the instrument from her sock and used it to stab the goalkeeper in the face.

In the estimation of Harbour View coach, Vin Blaine, the penalty was waytoo harsh. He does not believe that Walker approached Reid with any malice and that the custodian was the instigator.

"Based on the evidence presented, I do not think that it was enough for a five-year ban. There was a crowd and nobody clearly saw anything," he said. "I hate the fact that the incident had to happen, I don't stand for this sort of thing, but the committee may have had a preconceived notion before the meeting.

"The player has been with me for a while and I have never had any reason to even speak to her. But I guess they're using her to set a precedence and that is the ruling so we have to go with it," he said. "That being said, I think the referee was also at fault because she should have sent the goalkeeper off for several prior incidents."

Olympic Gardens' coach, Michael Peart, also thought the ban was too harsh for the team's only goalkeeper to have to serve, but was also prepared to stand by the ruling.

"We were hoping for half of that but based on the precedence they explained we are prepared to live with that," he said. "In my estimation, the ban for Walker was fair. You cannot be allowed to injure another player with a weapon."