High expectations – and no salaries – are really tough on players

YOU waltz past players, produce some deft touches and killer passes – and then you miss a chance, only for someone to shout from the stands – “Makan gaji buta! (you’re getting paid for doing nothing).”

It can be really disheartening.

Missing a chance is always difficult for a player. It can sap confidence and also means you may lose your spot in the team. The coach is not going to be happy. Having fans swear at you only makes things worse.

You know what is really excruciating? When you are not being paid for what you do on the field.

Kelantan owner Norizam Tukiman has held back 50% of his players’ salaries because they could not win games. It’s just not right. Winning and losing are part of the game.

It must be frustrating for players to wait months for their full paycheque. Demoralised, they may not be able to perform in matches, which would only mean more holding back of their salaries. It becomes a vicious cycle.

Norizam has reasserted that he has paid the full salaries now, but the fact that he withheld it makes you wonder if he has any empathy.

Players, too, have bills to pay, loans to settle and families to feed.

In recent days, there have been startling revelations over how the owner treats players and coaches. The man who was once hailed as a saviour when he took over the Red Warriors is now a fallen hero.

With his tight-fisted ways, he could be making Kelantan a no-go zone. Players will have second thoughts about joining the club.

People say it’s fun being a footballer, but the reality of professional football is far from rosy.

True, it pays big bucks, but it’s a short career and a risky one, too, no thanks to injuries that can end careers and the physical demands it requires.

Add to that the demands of glory-seeking fans and that of coaches, and it gets very strenuous. If you are not getting paid, it’s just not worth it.

It’s not Kelantan alone. There is also Sarawak United, who do not have a licence to compete in the Super League and play in M3 instead.

Their former technical director B. Sathianathan has revealed that he is owed more than five months’ salary and his insurance claims were not paid.

The FAM Status Committee have urged the club to settle the dues, but players have revealed that they are still waiting for their payment.

I have been told that one Super League club have not paid some of their players for more than two months, but these men are still giving their all for the team.

They have been given assurances but the money is not forthcoming. The matter could just go to the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) soon.

This delay in salaries, and withholding of payments is happening too often.

It’s like a cancer that won’t stop spreading. It’s time the powers-that-be clamp down further on administrators who do not obey the rules.

We know that the Malaysian Football League (MFL) are doing what they can with club licensing, but what has happened in Kelantan and Sarawak United should never have happened.

If this continues, the game will go nowhere. We cannot call our league a professional league when the people running the teams within are not professional about their jobs.