The Northern Lions short stay in the Premier League came to an abrupt end when the Malaysian Football League (MFL) board of directors booted out the team with immediate effect on Wednesday.
On the same day when Super League outfit Petaling Jaya City FC introduced ex-Perlis player Safee Sali as their new player, the MFL also showed humanity by giving other Perlis players an extension of 30 days to find new teams although the transfer window ended at midnight on Fen 20.
Six other teams also had their financial documents scrutinized but Perlis was the worst of the lot and hence the immediate sentence was meted out on the Northern Lions as the players have not been paid for the last two months.
MFL chief executive officer Kevin Ramalingam said: “It was a unanimous decision by the board but all was taken into consideration before the harsh decision was taken.”
Perlis gained entry into the Premier League when MISC-MIFA (now known as Petaling Jaya City FC) was promoted to the elite Super League when Felcra FC disbanded its team due to financial constraints.
The fate of the remaining six will be announced at a later date after their submitted their financial documents.
Meanwhile, PJ City FC chief coach K. Devan was a happy man with Safee coming on board. PJ City also revealed its new foreign import – Brazilian Sergio Paulo Nascimento Filho.
“Now I have a balanced and complete team with the addition of Safee and Sergio. The two players have given the team depth and I believe we will be able to put in our challenge this season,” said Devan.
At the same function Safee described his brief stint with Perlis as an unforgettable expire which nearly killed his career. RIZAL ABDULLAH
