FAM’s elections in March, Darul Ta’zim off the hook
THE FA of Malaysia (FAM) executive committee yesterday set the association’s elections on March 25 next year.
Nominations for the elections must be sent to FAM by Jan 23 and the final list of contenders for the posts of president, two deputy presidents, four vice-presidents and 10 executive committee will be released on Feb 20.
“A total of 39 delegates, comprising 20 affiliates will be involved in the voting process. The incumbents do not hold additional votes,” said FAM deputy president Datuk Seri Afandi Hamzah after chairing the meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.
“The decision to nominate individuals to contest for the available posts is in the hands of affiliates. Anyone can be nominated as long as they are Malaysians.”
FAM brought forward their election date from 2018 following the decision by president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to step down.
The FAM disciplinary board also raised eyebrows yesterday when they decided not to take action against Darul Ta’zim for fielding a suspended player in the 4-0 win over Police in a Super League match on Aug 16.
The decision by the disciplinary board not to pursue the case concerning the use of the suspended Juan Lucero by Darul Ta’zim came as a surprise. Police lodged an objection against Lucero’s eligibility on Oct 27 but withdrew it on the same day for unknown reasons.
Pahang, who were involved in a relegation battle, only filed a complaint against the eligibility of Kedah right-back Rizal Ghazali on Oct 13, more than two months after the Aug 3 match, which Tan Cheng Hoe’s side had won 1-0. However, the disciplinary board overturned the result and awarded Pahang a 3-0 win last week.
M-League competition regulations state that teams have 72 hours to lodge an official complaint over any incident in a match while FAM’s disciplinary code allows any football matter to be reviewed for up to two years as the basis of their complaint.
“There is no case as Police withdrew their objection. The disciplinary body is an independent body and we are only conveying their decision.
“I think the facts of both cases are different. Maybe, the secretariat can explain further about it. We will review the laws and standardise it soon,” he said
On National Football Development Programme (NFDP) project director Lim Teong Kim’s inappropriate conduct in South Korea on Sept 29, Afandi said the association have issued a warning to NFDP over the matter.
“We have received a report from NFDP and they have apologised. We have warned them against repeating the offence,” said Afandi.
Pohang Steelers were leading 4-0 at half-time when Teong Kim refused to allow his players to take the field for the second half, claiming that the Korean club fielded overage players for the under-14 friendly.
FAM also announced that all agents and players’ representatives must register with FAM as intermediaries under the Fifa new law.
“We have 15 intermediaries registered so far with FAM. It will be fully implemented for the new season. They have to register with FAM