Kelantan’s RM50k payback order puzzles Nurshamil

Happier times: Just two years ago Nurshamil Abd Ghani was the highest scoring local player in the second-tier Malaysia Premier League.

PETALING JAYA: Striker Nurshamil Abd Ghani is completely baffled with his club Kelantan.

He says they owe him money but instead of settling the arrears, the club owned by Norizam Tukiman, have asked him to pay RM50,000 if he wishes to cancel his deal with them.

According to him, the club, currently mired in problems over unpaid wages for their players and serving a ban from Malaysian Football League (MFL), have yet to settle his Employees Provident Fund (EPF) payments, promotion bonus and match bonuses.

The 28-year-old said he had met with the management to end his stay with the club by mutual agreement but instead of letting him go, they have asked him to pay RM50,000.

Unhappy with the way he has been treated, Nurshamil made his feelings known on social media.

“I went on good faith but is this how you treat me? This is not a mutual agreement, this is an agreement that only benefits you,” he said on his social media account.

Determined to solve the matter, Nurshamil met up with the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) to air his grievances, with the hope of settling the issue and moving on to a new club.

He spoke to the body’s present president Safee Sali, chief executive officer Izham Ismail and legal executive Syafiq Jebat at PFAM’s office in Kuala Lumpur.

Kelantan have been beset with salary issues, with Norizam publicly claiming that he had held back the players’ salaries due to their poor performance.

He, however, later said the full salaries would be distributed to the players.

But it proved too little too late as MFL imposed a transfer ban on the club for the second transfer window, which starts tomorrow.

The situation has resulted in many players leaving the club, beginning with Filipino defenders Carli De Murga and Christian Rontini in May.

Last month, Miguel Cifuentes and Mario Arques followed suit, with Cifuentes signing for Sabah.

Nigerian striker Ismaheel Akinade has also moved on, joining Kelantan United for the remainder of the Super League season.

Several local players from the club have also publicly spoken about their predicaments on social media.