KUALA LUMPUR: The Professional Football Players Association of Malaysia (PFAM) views the issue of illegal agents (intermediaries) that are roaming freely in the Malaysia League (M-League) as a very serious matter and stressed that it needs to be addressed and given due attention.
Therefore, PFAM president Rezal Zambery Yahya has appealed to any party or individual that wants to be a player’s agent to do so by adhering to the rules set by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) which includes registering legally with the country’s football governing body first before anything else.
"If at all there are any problems or issues pertaining to a player’s contract, FAM can take the necessary action when a player’s agent is registered and not operating illegally.
"However, if a player’s agent is not registered, FAM will not be able to act and be able to take the appropriate action and this will of course cause unnecessary problems. So PFAM sternly advises players to be very careful and alert when choosing an agent or intermediary to represent them.
"In fact, players can check and refer with FAM or get in touch with PFAM to find out on the status of an agent to avoid problems and unnecessary hassle in the future,” said Rezal when contacted here earlier today.
At the same time, Rezal also admitted that PFAM are more than ready to work together with FAM to address, combat and prevent the issue of illegal agents from spreading and causing more problems in the local football scene.
"For the sake of the players, for sure we are ready to work together and cooperate with FAM. We want players to be well represented by reputable agents who are legal and registered in our Malaysia League (M-League),” said Rezal.
Before this, NSTP Sport had exclusively revealed that there are only four agents that are registered with FAM since the country’s football governing body introduced the Intermediary System last year, in line with Fifa’s new rules and regulations after the worldwide abolishment of the Fifa agent system and registration in 2015.
The handful of agents who are legally registered has caused a stir because for this season, Super League and Premier League teams have 108 foreign imports and 612 local players on their books.
This means that illegal agents dominate the players market in the M-league and this has caused concern and worry for the players and teams, especially in the event of any problems arising, such as salary disputes and arrears, or contractual issues which have happened before.
*Reports by: AZIMAN ROSDI, ZULFAIZAN MANSOR and SYAFIQ AZNAN