KUALA TERENGGANU: FA of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said just-suspended Pahang coach Dollah Salleh may appeal against the 18-month suspension and RM30,000 fine meted on him for making negative remarks about the body.
FAM announced today that the former national coach will relinquish all his football-related duties during the suspension period, which took effect yesterday. However, the second nine months of Dollah’s sentence may be suspended, contingent upon good behaviour.
In defending the FAM's decision on the penalty, Tunku Ismail said the body have sufficient proof to demonstrate that Dollah had directly accused the FAM of match-fixing in a meet between Pahang and Felda United on July 1.
"His accusation had painted a picture of the higher ups at FAM, or I myself, had fixed the match. I would like to stress that if his accusation is true, then surely the JDT (Johor Darul Takzim) team would have won the FA Cup or Malaysia Cup.
"I have no idea how he came to the conclusion that we were involved in fixing the match. Perhaps he himself was involved in match fixing during his time as a player.
"What I need to stress is that no one is above the law. Even I and (former FAM vice president) Tan Sri Annuar Musa have been suspended before," he told reporters after the second FAM Executive Committee meeting for the 2017-2021 term here today.
Present was his deputy, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.
Tunku Ismail said the penalty meted out by FAM is nothing unusual, as it is common in all FA worldwide, including the FA in England.
"We may (critique) the performance of a referee, but there is a limit to it.
"However, Dollah may appeal for a lenient penalty within ten days from the date of the penalty yesterday.
The former international criticised the standard of refereeing and other matters concerning the FAM after the Super League match against Felda United in Jengka on July 1.
He was found guilty under Article 61 of the disciplinary code which was read together with Article 88 of the association's statutes.