S’wak Utd in hot water over salary arrears
PETALING JAYA: Sarawak United FC are facing hefty punishment from the Malaysian Football League (MFL) after the overdue salaries of some of their players came to light.
MFL chief executive officer Stuart Ramalingam said there are three possible penalties – a transfer ban, relegation to the Premier League, and the revocation of the club’s licence.
Stuart said, however, any change of team to replace Sarawak United would be left to the MFL board of directors to decide.
“The club has till this Dec 15 to settle any overdue salaries and at the same time, the MFL will investigate the issue,” he said at a media conference on Thursday.
Sarawak United, under E Elavarasan’s charge, are due to compete in the Super League next season after finishing second in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, MFL Club Licensing First Instance Body chairman Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif announced that 12 teams Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC, UiTM FC, Melaka United FC, Perak FC, Sri Pahang FC, Selangor FC, Terengganu FC, Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC, Sabah FC, Penang FC and Petaling Jaya (PJ) City FC - competing in the Super League had been issued national club licences.
He said that Melaka, however, was issued with a national licence with a restriction of a RM15,000 fine and was warned for violating the cut-off date to repay their overdue payments involving the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) on Sept 30.
He said the club had to settle the fine by Nov 20 and needed to send proof of payment to MFL Club Licensing or be subject to further action.
Sheikh Mohd Nasir said 10 of the 12 clubs – JDT, Kedah, UiTM FC, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu, KL City, Sabah, Penang and PJ City FC – were issued Asian Football Confederation (AFC) licences which enable them to compete in the AFC Club Championships should they qualify.
Pahang did not apply for the AFC licence, while Melaka did not meet the licence conditions.
Sheikh Mohd Nasir also announced that five 2021 Premier League teams were issued national club licences namely Kelantan FC, Kuching City FC, Kelantan United FC, Negeri Sembilan FC and PDRM FC.
He added that the AFC and national licences were valid for only one season but could be withdrawn if the club violated any article in the 2021 MFL Club Licensing Regulations or failed to comply with any conditions related to the licences.
“As a proactive step, the MFL asked each team to submit documents proving they are free of any overdue salaries, as well as payments to the EPF, IRB and the Social Security Organisation (Socso) by Dec 15.
“If any club has obtained licences for 2022 and has overdue salaries that have yet to be settled with players and officials at the end of this season, namely by November, the club will be subject to an immediate player transfer ban, he added.
The club has till this Dec 15 to settle any overdue salaries and at the same time, the MFL will investigate the issue.
Stuart Ramalingam