Perlis get tough

ACTION: Non-performing players dropped, reinforcements signed
ELEVEN players from the Perlis football team have been dropped and they were yesterday replaced with fresh signings,   including an import from Sierra Leone.


Reasons given for the dropping of the 11 were  disciplinary misconduct and  declining  performance.



Perlis FA (PFA) president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim  said the 11 players  had received their termination letters on April 1.


"We have decided to terminate their contracts  after looking thoroughly at their performance on the pitch and their conduct off the pitch.


"Today (yesterday) we  signed up 10 local players  to replace them. What happened previously should not happen again. The management will not condone any misconduct," said Shahidan.


"The Northern Lions were  once a feared team but are now  known as the toothless lions.


 "We want  the new set of players  to shine and prove themselves on the field. We need full commitment and loyalty from the players in  our remaining 11 matches," said Shahidan, after the signing ceremony in Kangar.  


Shahidan also advised the new players to approach the management if they faced problems instead  of engaging with bookies.


He added there was a clause in the contracts  which stated they could be terminated immediately if the players were  found to have indulged in any kind of misconduct.


   A decline in performance could also see them docked 10 per cent of their wages.


   PFA deputy president Azhar Ahmad, who is also the Perlis team manager,  did not deny that some of the players dropped were believed to have  links with the recent match-fixing scandal.


   Nine Perlis players had admitted  coming into contact with a bookie who offered them up to RM100,000 each before the state's heavy 7-2 loss to Muar Municipal Council in a Premier League match at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Muar on Jan 9.


   Since then, the association had kept a close eye on them and they were given until April to improve.