SCARRED MISC-MIFA FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
Getting new players after match-fixing scandal
REPORTS BY AJITPAL SINGH ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my
THEIR image marred by matchfixing allegations recently, MISC-MIFA are now planning for a recruitment drive to avoid relegation from the Premier League. The club are just above the relegation zone at 10th in the table on goal difference over 11th-place Perlis with each having garnered six points in 13 matches.
Argentine centre-back Alan Aciar, who was remanded but not charged by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) last month, has mutually terminated his contract with the club and left the country.
Midfielder Steven Imbiri has returned to Indonesia after mutually terminating his contract with MISC-MIFA.
Two local players were charged by MACC for match-fixing and their cases are still pending. The duo have been dropped from the squad.
The incident has rocked the team and affected their confidence.
The management of MISC-MIFA will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide their next course of action.
It is learnt that the club want to drop underperforming players and recruit new ones before the mid-season transfer window closes on June 11.
Former Selangor and Kelantan coach K. Devan has been hired as the club’s technical director on a short-term basis.
Devan, who helped Selangor win two Super League crowns and a FA Cup title, has received offers from Melaka and another Super League club.
It is learnt that the coach is negotiating with the two teams and will leave MISCMIFA if a deal is finalised.
MISC-MIFA have signed an Egyptian player and are looking for two more foreign signings.
It is said that Cameroon’s Tagne Dimitri or Nigerian Michael Ijezie will be dropped. Dimitri is the club’s top scorer with 12 goals and in contention for the league’s Golden Boot award while Ijezie has netted eight times this season.
“I was hired to work with the club in an advisory capacity. I am here to help until further announcements are made over players and other matters,” Devan told Timesport yesterday.
It is learnt that, however, Devan has been conducting training sessions at the club’s training ground in Nilai. The status of MISCMIFA’s current coach, Jacob Joseph, is unknown.