Malaysian Football League (MFL) give the opportunity and must not continue to impose heavy penalties by withdrawing the license of any team facing the issue of salary arrears.
Now, it is understood that two Liga Super Malaysia teams, Kedah Darul Aman and Kuala Lumpur City, are struggling with the problem of salary arrears, whether the licenses of the respective teams will be withdrawn and they will not be allowed to compete in the 2024/25 season.
However, Datuk Stuart Ramalingam, MFL Chief Executive Officer, explained that action should only be taken after the team has been involved in a certain process or level of punishment in case the issue of salary arrears cannot be resolved.
In addition, The process was the same as that carried out by the International Football Federation (FIFA), where cancellation of participation or withdrawal of a license was seen as a last resort after other penalties had been imposed.
“We have several actions that can be taken before withdrawing the license of a team facing the issue of salary arrears, including fines, dismissals and restrictions on player transfers.” CEO MFL said on Berita Harian.
“For example, if FIFA makes a decision regarding the case of salary arrears, it doesn’t mean they will immediately withdraw the team’s license. They will impose transfer restrictions first, secondly fines and thirdly take action on team participation.”
“So, we are still in the first phase of trying to resolve this case. We will see that it may be a long way before the license is withdrawn. But we will work with the team and all stakeholders first to resolve the related case,”
Commenting further, Stuart also explained that the case of the two affected teams was different from the case of Kelantan who failed to obtain a license due to the issue of salary arrears.
“The Kelantan case is a little different, they faced problems before the license was given, now the debt (of the two teams) arises after the license is given, not before the license is given.
“These two teams are also in a position that we feel can be resolved again. We hope they use the time available before the league starts to resolve it,”
He said that his party would hold a meeting with the Malaysian Professional Football Players Association (PFAM) and the Malaysian Football Coaches Association (PJBM) to obtain further information.
“I have been in touch with the two teams involved, they understand the pressure of the moment and understand the demands of the players demanding their rights.
“This team does not want to be in this position and they will put every priority on resolving this matter as quickly as possible,”
Credit Photo : KDA FC
