KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 – It happened last year and it has happened again but Melaka United FC does not seem to have learned its lesson of having three points deducted at the start of the new football season.
With the three-point deduction, the Super League outfit has plunged to 10th place in the 12-team league – down two rungs.
The Malaysian Football League’s (MFL) Licensing First Instance Body has come down hard on the errant team for defaulting payment of late salaries for players and officials of Melaka United FC based on a set schedule.
It is a disgrace that the Melaka FA deputy president Datuk Yusoff Mahadi is also a deputy president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). He is also the national team manager.
The Melaka FA president is Datuk Sulaiman Ali who is also the Melaka Chief Minister.
Late salaries have been a perennial problem for Melaka but somehow has been able to get some leeway on the matter.
In a statement released by the MFL on Friday, it stated Melaka FC was found to have failed to respect the schedule agreed on the second payment and thus has been slapped with a three-point deduction in the league.
Melaka FC met the first deadline of Jan 31, 2021, and paid the salary arrears to players and officials accordingly. It further warned that if Melaka FC repeats the offense it would face further action.