MFL: No need to fuss over revised fixtures

Malaysia Football League (MFL) have asked all parties not to make an issue on the revised Super League schedule involving Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).

This issue arose after MFL made changes to the match schedule between JDT and Kelantan which was initially scheduled to take place on Tuesday, and which has now been moved to tomorrow instead to enable for celebrations among the Southern Tigers and their fans at their home of Larkin Stadium after winning a fifth straight Super League title.

MFL chief executive officer, Kevin Ramalingam, explained that the decision was taken after an agreement between the teams involved in the reshuffling of the schedule.

“We must remember that there have been changes to the schedule before involving other teams in the league which had nothing to do with JDT.

“For example the Premier League fixture between Felda United and Police this Monday has also been changed to Saturday so that Felda can celebrate their triumph in winning the league with their supporters.

“So for us, this is a matter which has been blown out of proportion when it involves JDT,” he said when contacted here yesterday.

MFL revealed that the change in schedule was decided last Thursday and the decision to do so also involved upcoming fixtures for a few teams including Kelantan, Selangor, Perak, Perak SEDC, Terengganu and Pahang.

The decision was supported by the coaches of the six teams involved, however, the issue was still disputed by certain parties who feel that it is a decision which seems to favour JDT.

Therefore, Kevin explained that the decision was not one-sided because other teams will also get the same treatment if they were in JDT’s place.

“We have already explained that there are certain processes and procedures to be adhered to before such a move to amend the schedule can be made. There is nobody, not even myself or Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim who can make such a decision.

“The first part of the process is getting the agreement from all the teams involved as well as a collective decision from the board of directors.

“In fact, teams that put forth applications and requests to amend the schedule do not have a say in the process of obtaining a decision,” he added.

Perak SEDC 0 PKNS 1, N Sembilan 3 Selangor 1, Melaka 2 Pahang 2, Kuala Lumpur 1 Perak 5.

Police 1 UiTM 2, Sabah 0 Penang 0, Felcra 1 JDT II 2.

RESULTS — Super League: