‘No pay, no play’, Sarawak United football players say

Sarawak United Football Club (SUFC) have refused to play in any football matches until their salaries are paid.

As such, it remains up in the air whether or not they will play in their scheduled match against Negeri Sembilan Football Club at 8.15pm tomorrow.

A source familiar with the matter told Malaysiakini that the salary arrears, amounting to four months, have begun to be paid in batches starting today.

May’s salaries had already been credited into players’ accounts as of this morning, and June’s salaries will be credited later today, according to the source.

"Maybe tomorrow (the management will pay) salaries for the remaining two months.

"But the players will only play (in tomorrow’s game) if they (the management) pay the remaining salaries," the source said.

Malaysiakini understands that players have not returned to Sarawak for training since Aug 26.

This comes after SUFC president Posa Majais promised players that payments would be made by Aug 20, in an internal memo dated Aug 7.

Failure to make payments would give players and officials the right to not play in the following matches, the memo stated.

Claims pending

It was previously reported that medical, flight claims and match bonuses are also pending, together with payments from the previous football seasons.

And it seemed that even accommodation rental payments were not paid in recent months. However, it remains unclear if these arrears will be reimbursed in time for tomorrow’s match.

The Sun reported on Aug 26 that the Malaysian Football League (MFL) had withdrawn RM100,000 from Sarawak United FC's broadcasting rights fund to be channelled to players and officials who have not been paid their salaries.

The funds were channelled by the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM), which had previously confirmed receiving reports on the delayed salaries of SUFC players. - Mkini