TMJ slams stone-aged mentality in Malaysian football

PETALING JAYA: Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim yesterday lambasted certain quarters of the local footballing scene, including associations and fans, for what he described as hurting the nation's progress in the sport.
In a statement, Tunku Ismail said certain teams that failed to complete their squad registrations for the 2018 M-League season, and their fans who failed to understand the rules, were the reason why Malaysian football was not showing progress.
"I, as the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president and owner of Johor Darul Ta'zim FC, would like to apologise to our sponsors who have invested hundreds of millions of ringgit to see this league become professional.
"Unfortunately, this is the reason why Malaysian football is not progressing towards professionalism. It's due to the stone-aged attitude and mentality," he said.
Tunku Ismail's statement came following the failure of six teams – Super League outfits Kelantan and Kuala Lumpur and Premier League's Kuantan FA, PDRM, Penang FA and Sarawak – to complete the mandatory registration process, despite the season already being underway.
Another four teams – Selangor, PKNS FC, MISC-MIFA and UKM – did not submit their documents on time, despite several reminders and extensions.
Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), of which Tunku Ismail is the chairman, had earlier said that the teams might face punishment, including being handed point deductions or transfer bans, or both.
Tunku Ismail has however urged FMLLP not to take any action against these teams, saying it would create speculation among those who were "less intelligent", insinuating that he or JDT FC was trying to sabotage other teams.
"With this, I feel that FMLLP should not take any action or deduct points from those involved, and let them continue to compete in the M-League.
"Let our sponsors see for themselves why our league is not progressing," he added.