MELAKA captain Safiq Rahim has claimed that he and his teammates have agreed to take salary cuts despite not being paid for the last two months.
Safiq, who was the captain of Malaysia’s 2010 AFF Cup winning team, said this after a meeting with the Melaka United Soccer Association (Musa) yesterday.
“However, we have only agreed to accept pay cuts from this month.
“The agreement does not cover our salaries for February and March. They need to pay us both months in full.
“However, the pay cut scale has not been agreed yet,” said Safiq yesterday.
The Melaka players’ decision to accept salary cuts is surprising considering that they have not been paid for two months.
The Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) and former FA of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim have urged players not to agree to pay cuts if their teams owed them salary arrears.
Melaka, Kedah and Penang are the three teams in the spotlight for not paying salaries on time.
FAM have urged players and teams to hold discussions and find solutions to mitigate the economic impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following the suspension of the M-League, teams are facing financial woes due to loss of income from gate collections and sponsorships.
Musa deputy president Datuk Yusoff Mahadi said among those who attended the meeting yesterday were coach Zainal Abidin Hassan and 11 players.
“We will meet the rest of the squad tomorrow (today) to get their views on pay cuts,” he said.