Rezal Zambery Yahya (in red) representing the players and coaches. - KDN FC
KOTA BHARU: Kelantan, The Real Warriors have been given two days until Tuesday to resolve the issue of salary arrears of nearly 20 players and the team's coaches for last season.
Former Kelantan head coach, Rezal Zambery Yahya said the decision was made after three settlement offers previously submitted by the management were considered biased and unprofessional.
"The three offers included a half-salary cut every month, a payment between RM500 and RM1,000 for each match, or an instalment payment of RM200 per month until the debt is settled.
"For us, the offer does not make sense. We are not a water purifier that pays RM200 per month for 10 years. So we have put forward several counter-offers and given them until Tuesday to decide,” he said at a press conference here on Sunday (July 13).
Rezal also questioned Kelantan's action of continuing to pay the salaries of imported players to avoid transfer restrictions by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), while local players who train and play until the end of the season continue to be mistreated.
He said several series of discussions had been held before but the management were seen not serious about resolving the salary arrears since February to April.
If they still fail to settle the arrears within the specified period, Rezal said an official complaint would be submitted to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) status committee for further action.
Meanwhile, Rezal also revealed that Kelantan FC president Rozi Muhammad had still not settled his personal debt amounting to nearly hundreds of thousands of ringgit which was used to assist the club’s management last season, including paying players’ salaries.
"When the team was facing financial problems, I was looking for money to help the team.
"Now people are chasing me to pay the loan. I urge him to take responsibility for settling the debt which has been outstanding since September last year," he said. - Bernama
