KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — The Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) football players who recently resigned from the national squad were fed up with alleged mistreatment and poor management, Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said today.
Tunku Ismail, who owns the JDT football team, came to his players’ defence and said they had come to him with their predicament, and that they had wanted to leave the squad but were fearful of management and public backlash.
“To understand this situation you have to exercise your brain, even though most of you don’t like it. It is easy to criticise but you have to put yourself in their shoes to understand their decision,” he said in a posting on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page.
“They do this because they are tired of unnecessary call-ups that they have to spend months in training camp doing nothing.
“They have to play for an organisation that never stand up for their well-being and they don’t even do anything when their compatriots don’t receive salaries from their respective clubs. They are playing for a president who never attend trainings or meetings. Playing for a leader who doesn’t even know their name and existence. Playing for an organisation that couldn’t care less when they get injured,” he wrote.
Tunku Ismail said the disgruntled players had tried to voice their concerns to coaches and officials before resigning but were ignored, adding that there are now more players who want to quit but are too fearful of their superiors.
The post came after the sudden retirement of national team skipper Safiq Rahim, Aidil Zafuan, Aminulhadi Zainal, and S Kunanlan, all of whom play for JDT.
The crown prince has in the past been very critical of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), which runs the national team, and the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP).
Tunku Ismail also said he has been accused of “killing” the Malaysian football team before, but would continue his actions if it resulted in positive changes.
“The world knows I’m not killing Malaysian football. But I can assure you, that I will do whatever it takes to kill corruption in Malaysian football and those who are responsible. Malaysia needs people with football knowledge and professional coaches, not businessmen,” he said.
He also singled out the FMLLP for not taking care of the club’s interests and fans and pandering to a “few individuals” making millions.
Earlier today, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that he would speak to Tunku Ismail regarding their resignations soon.
