Fix your problems before criticising others on accountability, Kuala Lumpur City FC sporting director tells KLFA

Futsal outfit Kuala Lumpur City FC sporting director Jerry Dinesh Pireira says football administrators should focus on resolving longstanding issues within their own organisations rather than attacking those demanding accountability.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City FC sporting director Jerry Dinesh Pireira has urged Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) deputy president Datuk Kamarudin Hassan to address unresolved issues within KLFA before criticising those demanding accountability over the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) damning audit of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Pireira’s futsal club, Kuala Lumpur City FC, has existed since 2009. However, confusion arose after KLFA’s Super League side, then known as KL United FC, was renamed Kuala Lumpur City Football Club in 2021.

KLFA president Syed Yazid Syed Omar is also the chairman of Kuala Lumpur City Football Club.

Under Malaysia Football League rules, state FAs are no longer permitted to directly own or manage clubs competing in the M-League, although they may hold shares in such clubs.

KLFA’s previous arrangement with Rinani Group Berhad in 2023 saw the company acquire a 51 per cent stake in Kuala Lumpur City Football Club, with KLFA retaining 49 per cent. The deal subsequently collapsed, leaving KLFA in search of new owners for the team.

Pireira said the similarity in names between his futsal club and the professional side has repeatedly led to confusion, unfairly affecting his organisation.

“KLFA is in a mess,” said Pireira, who was responding to Kamarudin’s recent claim that Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh was using AFC’s audit findings on FAM to boost his political profile.

“It has outstanding salary arrears involving players and coaches from Kuala Lumpur City Football Club, as well as mounting legal issues and notices of debt. Yet, instead of addressing those matters, one of its leaders is attacking those asking for accountability.”

Pireira said Kuala Lumpur City FC has repeatedly been affected by confusion arising from the similarity in names between the two clubs.

“We have been receiving legal notices from Fifa regarding unpaid salary issues simply because people assume we are the same entity,” he said.

“We are currently seeking formal clarification from both Fifa and the AFC to confirm that Kuala Lumpur City FC is a separate entity. We cannot be expected to carry liabilities that are not ours, nor will we allow our image to be tarnished.”

He said the club had written several letters to KLFA seeking a resolution but had received no response.

“Neither the general secretary nor Kamarudin, who previously held that position, has responded regarding the issue of two entities operating under similar names,” said Pireira, a former national futsal player.

“Kamarudin can’t even keep his house in order, yet he is making statements about a politician who is asking for accountability.”

In an interview with Nadi Arena earlier this week, Kamarudin questioned why Ramkarpal was demanding that FAM publish the AFC audit report in full.

“That is just how politicians are. They take such opportunities to make themselves popular,” Kamarudin said.

Pireira said such remarks missed the point.

“Rather than questioning those who ask for accountability, football officials should work together to address these issues and find a constructive route forward,” he said.

On June 4, AFC revealed a series of damning findings from its audit of FAM, including low scores in governance, finance, risk management and administrative functions at the national body’s extraordinary congress.

AFC stepped in after FAM’s previous executive committee resigned on Jan 28, following the doctored documents scandal involving seven Harimau Malaya players.

On June 6, Ramkarpal described the AFC’s findings as “shocking” and said the full report should be disclosed in the public interest. He added that he would raise the matter in Parliament during its upcoming sitting beginning on June 22.

Pireira, who attended FAM’s extraordinary congress as an observer, said that while some of the findings surprised him, he viewed the audit as a positive development.

“It is good that these matters are now out in the open so we can look forward to changing things for the better,” Pireira said.

“The focus should be on fixing the problems identified and ensuring Malaysian football moves forward.”