KUALA TERENGGANU, July 23 — Pahang coach Dollah Salleh who was slapped with an 18-month suspension and fined RM30,000 by FA of Malaysia (FAM) has 10 days to appeal against the penalty said FAM president Tunku Ismail Ibrahim.
Tunku Ismail who is also Crown Prince of Johor said the 10-day period for appeal started yesterday and the appeal would be considered according to the provisions of the law stated in FAM’s constitution.
“I was suspended before. So, no one is above the law or can be exempted.
“We can comment on the performance of match officials but there are certain areas we cannot speak about... and what Dollah Salleh said was a ‘direct accusation’... as if the game was fixed by authorities,” he said after an FAM executive council meeting yesterday.
Tunku Ismail said Dollah’s accusation seemed like the management had fixed the matches or he (Tunku Ismail) was himself fixing matches.
“If the management fixed matches or I fixed the outcome of matches, then JDT (Johor Darul Takzim) would have won the FA Cup, isn’t it?
“So, where did he get the idea matches are fixed. Maybe he would have fixed matches during his career,” he said.
Tunku Ismail said FAM had taken several measures to improve the quality of refereeing, including proposing bringing in foreign referees.
