In limbo: Taylor Regan (front) has taken his contract grouses with Sarawak to FIFA and the case is one of the reasons for the Borneo football team to be booted out of next season’s Super League.
PETALING JAYA: It is official. Melaka and Sarawak United will not compete in the Super League next year.
The Malaysian Football League (MFL) Club Licensing Appeal Committee ruled to reject the appeal of both clubs to apply for a national licence.
The teams have been notified about the decision via e-mail, which was posted at noon yesterday.
The committee considered the appeal of Melaka and Sarawak following the decision of the First Instance Body (FIB), which rejected the National Licence application for the 2023 cycle on Oct 12 in accordance with Article 3.4.4 contained in the MFL Club Licensing Regulations 2022 Edition.
MFL chief executive officer (CEO) Stuart Ramalingam said next season’s league challenge will have 16 teams.
“It is not a nice feeling to inform the press about this decision. But, unfortunately, the appeals made by Melaka and Sarawak have been rejected, and they do not have the licence to compete in next season’s Super League.
“Now, we will have 16 teams competing in the league. But that does not mean Melaka and Sarawak will not play football again. However, there are other structures they can resort to, and in this case, it is the Amateur Football League (AFL).“But that is a different regulation, and it is up to AFL to decide because that is a different league body.”
When asked to reveal the reasons behind the rejection, Stuart said he would not reveal them.
“Based on the confidentiality of the submissions, we are unable to inform the areas of failure. Therefore, I cannot disclose them. I can only inform the decision we have made. MFL’s FIB decided not to award the two teams a national licence for the 2023 revamped Super League season.
Both teams have been embroiled in unpaid wages for the last few seasons and were given a seven-day deadline to appeal.
All M-League clubs must submit their documentation and financial records to obtain the licence to play in the M-League on Sept 30.
Only 10 teams from the Super League and six from the Premier League have been granted the licence.
FIB chairman Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif revealed that Melaka failed to submit the payment or proof of settlement on their overdue payables to employees as of June and Aug 2022.
On the other hand, Sarawak failed to meet the financial and sporting criteria and had two FIFA cases involving former players – Sandro Mendonca of Brazil and Taylor Regan of Australia.
