UNIKL COACH IN HOT WATER

MHL summon Selvaraj for a hearing tomorrow

THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division is only two matches old, but Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) coach Arul Selvaraj has already been hauled up by the technical committee.

MHL tournament director Jusvir Singh, who is also the tournament technical committee chairman, said a letter has been sent to Arul, asking him to attend a hearing on Thursday.

“Arul had made a statement to the press which touched on policy matters of the tournament, and so, the technical committee has sent him a letter to attend a hearing on Thursday.

“My advice to all the coaches and team managers in the MHL is that it is advisable for them to talk to the relevant parties about policies or matters which they are not happy about,” said Jusvir Singh.

Arul had told Berita Harian that the MHL looks like it’s going to “close shop” because it received a lukewarm response this season and something needs to be done to revive it.

In the article, Arul had also said he made suggestions to the MHC on how to revive the league but there was no response.

The UniKL coach also felt that the three-month duration of the MHL is too short, and should be extended to eight months like in Europe.

Among others Arul also said that the Razak Cup is no longer relevant, and if there is no drastic changes by MHC, he feels that hiring the best coach in the world and spending millions will not take the national team anywhere.

He also said it is not impossible that the MHL will “close shop” if MHC do not have a good plan to unearth talent in a competitive league.

The MHC code of conduct on public statements, among others, states: “Public statements must be fair and reasonable and must not involve a personal attack on another player, umpire, appointed official or administrator.”