Tony Mariadass
FMT
August 8, 2020 9:42 AM
The
raging disputes of unpaid wages to M-League football players and coaches
reflect the depths of greed and dishonesty to which the warring parties are
prepared to sink.
It is
an old problem created by the players, coaches, and state football associations
(FAs) and clubs themselves who connive to under declare salaries to the
authorities.
Such
scheming is glaring in the double contracts signed by players and coaches with
their employers.
The
practice of double contracts is not new: it has plagued the M-League during the
semi-professional era from 1987-1994 when wage caps were imposed by the FA of
Malaysia (FAM).
Then,
state FAs and clubs hired players with higher salaries than the capped wages.
They
then submitted the contract with the capped wage to the FAM and signed a
separate one for the additional amount agreed upon.
The
wage cap was lifted when football went professional in 1994 due to the free
transfer market.
Today,
even without salary caps double contracts exist – the first with a lower pay
and the other higher.
They
collude in order to pay less taxes and make reduced contributions to the
Employees Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation.
Sometimes,
it is the player and coach who request for the double contract, other times the
FAs and clubs hold sway.
The
consequences kick in when the aggrieved individuals take their case to FAM,
only to learn that the national body recognises the first agreement as the
official deal.
That
would explain why disgruntled players or coaches are reluctant to lodge a
complaint with FAM or the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia when
their wages are not paid or underpaid.
Those
who seek the assistance of both the bodies end up getting lesser money based on
their first contract which is deemed ‘official’.
The
same happens when team managements change midway through a season and recognise
the first agreement.
A
case in point is that of a coach who suffered a 50% reduction in his wages, based
on the first contract submitted to FAM, when a new management took over the
team.
He
took the matter to FAM’s Appeals Committee after the Status Committee
recognised his first contract.
The
coach, who also claimed he was not paid for a few months, has the option to
seek redress in the Civil Court if he is unhappy with the decision of the
Appeals Committee.
Little
wonder then that the M-League is riddled with salary disputes every season.
If
everyone continues with underhand tactics, what next for Malaysian football
that went professional 25 years ago?
Clearly,
professionalism will never be achieved, and the integrity of M-League teams
will be compromised.
Irresponsible
actions will negate efforts by FAM to encourage teams to develop strong
governance and organisational structures, implement stable financial management
and increase credibility.
BLOG VERSION
Double contracts need to be halted in Malaysian
professional football era
Mind-set
needs to change with State FAs, clubs and players and coaches to sign
legitimate contracts to avoid wage wars.
The undeniable greed of players and coaches, and
cunningness of State FAs and clubs, have led them to very often under-declare
wages to authorities and it is now one of the main reasons for wage disputes
and non-payment of wages in Malaysian football.
This has resulted in ‘double contracts’ signed by
players and coaches with their football employers.
However, with the FA of Malaysia only recognising
the ‘Official’ contract submitted to them before the start of the season, when
disputes arise, players and coaches lose out.
The players, coaches and State FAs and clubs, have
to shoulder the blame for the mess which has been with the M-League from the
early 90s, when wage caps were imposed by FA of Malaysia.
The State FAs and clubs, to lure players to play
for them, would offer a player higher wage than the capped wage and submit the
original contract with the capped wage to the FAM and then sign a separate
contract for the additional amount agreed upon earlier.
During the current era when there are no wage caps,
players, coaches, State FAs and clubs, continue to sign ‘double contracts’ to
reduce the amount to be paid to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), Employees Provident
Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (PERKESO).
Sometimes the players and coaches request
for the ‘double contract’, other times the State FAs and clubs are the ones who
make the request.
When this horrible practice finally stops, then
maybe FAM can hope for a change of mind-set and all to follow the proper
procedure with club licensing and conversion from Football Associations to
Football Clubs as a must and in place for the 2021 season.
The Club Licensing is a tool for
both the development and benchmarking of professional football clubs. Under this system clubs must meet with certain
criteria to participate in National and/or AFC competitions and also includes:
-
·
Developing
strong governance and organisational structures
·
Implementing
stable financial management and reporting
·
Increasing
reliability, credibility and integrity of the clubs and league
·
Improving
the clubs’ administration, management and organisation.
One of the reasons why a player is reluctant to
make immediate complains to the FA of Malaysia or the Professional
Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) when in late or non-wage payments, is
because of his ‘double contracts.’ He will only go to FAM or PFAM, as a last resort and more often
than not, the decision will not favour the player or coach and will end up
getting paid based on the ‘official contract’ deposited with the FA of Malaysia.
Players and coaches normally request or
agree to sign ‘double’ contracts, out of trust and of course to earn extra
money without having to declare it to the authorities.
But sometimes players are left high and
dry when the team management is changed midway through a season and the new
management only recognises the ‘official contract’ in place.
There is at least one known case currently
on the table, of a coach who was initially paid the agreed sum with his
employers for a few months, but when there was a management change, he was only
paid the salary submitted to FA of Malaysia, which was almost half the sum
agreed upon.
The coach claims his contract with FA
of Malaysia was altered, but it is the duty of the coach or any player, to read
every page of the contract and understand every detail before signing each page
as he is required too.
The case is now with the FA of Malaysia
appeals committee after the Status Committee had decided whatever arrears to be
paid to the coach is based on the official contract submitted to them.
The coach has forwarded an appeal
petition to the FA of Malaysia Appeals Committee, with documents to prove that
he was paid the initial agreed sum for the first few months before his wage was
reduced some months later. He also has a signed document to the original amount
agreed upon.
There were also some months when
he was not paid. The Appeals Committee will hear the case soon and it will be
interesting to see what the outcome is.
The coach has the option to take his case
to the Civil Court if he is unhappy with the decision. The coach and employer
could have avoided this unnecessary and lengthy process if everything was done
above board and adhered to the original agreement.
That players, coaches, State FAs and
clubs resort to these under-the-counter tactics when it comes to wages in this
professional football era, is indeed disgraceful.
It is little wonder then that season in
and out, Malaysian football is faced with players and coaches’ wages disputes.
Malaysian football has enjoyed
professional status now for 25 years after an initial five years of semi-professionalism, so it is indeed disheartening to hear about such
dishonest goings on and it certainly does not augur well for the game.
It is high time powers that be decide
once and for all to whether go fully professional or return to amateur
football. In my book that's not a very tough decision to make.
Ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment