The tables have been turned as the Johor Football Association (JFA) lodged a police report alleging that Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) coach Cesar Jimenez was assaulted by a fitness coach and a striker from Terengganu's T-Team.
In the report lodged at the Johor Baru Sentral police station on Tuesday, Jimenez alleged that he was assaulted by T-Team striker Evaldo Goncalves and fitness coach Stefano Impagliazzo.
He was accompanied by Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu, a lawyer appointed by JFA , their honorary secretary Mohd Fahmy Yahya and several officials.
“We are here to accompany him (Jimenez) to lodge the report detailing that he was assaulted by the T-Team player wearing jersey No. 16 and their fitness coach," Baljit said.
According to him, Jimenez claims that he was the victim yet the facts had been twisted by T-Team and their officials.
The two teams were in the Larkin Stadium tunnel, trooping out at half-time during their FA Cup second-round clash on Saturday, with JDT leading 2-1, when the incident happened. Play was stopped when T-Team refused to come out in the second half.
”In the incident, his (Jimenez) T-shirt collar was pulled by the fitness coach (Impagliazzo) and he was also verbally abused by Impagliazzo," said Baljit.
He said the report was made under Section 323 of the Penal Code for assault and Section 506 of Criminal Code for criminal intimidation.
Similarly, Baljit said that the JFA would not hesitate to take legal action against those who were found to be spreading rumours or lies in the incident.
“We are giving our full co-operation to the police and the Football Association of Malaysia to investigate the case," he added.
Johor Baru South OCPD ACP Sulaiman Salleh confirmed the report.
On Sunday, T-Team striker Goncalves, defender Fabio Flor de Azevado, Impagliazzo and the club’s chief operating officer Mohd Syahrizan Mohd Zain lodged reports at the Kuala Terengganu district police headquarters pertaining to the incident.
The Brazilian striker Goncalves alleged that he was punched in the nose by a Johor FA top official while Impagliazzo was kicked in the groin by the official’s escort in the Larkin Stadium tunnel here.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
T-Team makes police reports over assault of players
T-Team have lodged police reports alleging that a top Johor FA official had assaulted two of their players and a fitness coach.
Striker Evaldo Goncalves, defender Fabio Flor de Azevado, fitness coach Stefano Impagliazzo and the club’s chief operating officer Mohd Syahrizan Mohd Zain lodged the reports at the Kuala Terengganu district police headquarters at 11pm on Sunday.
It is learnt that the reports were lodged to ensure “the safety of T-Team’s players” and named the “president of the Johor FA” as the perpetrator.
The reports state that Brazilian striker Goncalves was punched in the nose by the top official while Impagliazzo was kicked in the groin by the official’s escort in the Larkin Stadium tunnel when the two teams were trooping out at half-time during their FA Cup second round clash on Saturday. JDT were leading 2-1 at that time.
T-Team refused to come out for the second half and the match was abandoned.
Brazilian defender de Azevado also lodged a report claiming that he was verbally abused and threatened by the same official.
T-Team coach Azraai Khor Abdullah expressed hope that the authorities would act on the incident immediately.
“There’s nothing more we can do ... we’ll leave it to the authorities to handle it. For now, I want my players to put the incident behind them and focus on their football.
“We have a big match against Armed Forces this Saturday and I want the players to be in the right state of mind,” said Azraai, adding that team morale had not been too affected by the incident.
As for the victims, Azraai said that he understood the concern over their safety in the country.
“We cannot really stop them if they feel unsafe here. But they are good professionals and I think they will get over it,” said Azraai.
Striker Evaldo Goncalves, defender Fabio Flor de Azevado, fitness coach Stefano Impagliazzo and the club’s chief operating officer Mohd Syahrizan Mohd Zain lodged the reports at the Kuala Terengganu district police headquarters at 11pm on Sunday.
It is learnt that the reports were lodged to ensure “the safety of T-Team’s players” and named the “president of the Johor FA” as the perpetrator.
The reports state that Brazilian striker Goncalves was punched in the nose by the top official while Impagliazzo was kicked in the groin by the official’s escort in the Larkin Stadium tunnel when the two teams were trooping out at half-time during their FA Cup second round clash on Saturday. JDT were leading 2-1 at that time.
T-Team refused to come out for the second half and the match was abandoned.
Brazilian defender de Azevado also lodged a report claiming that he was verbally abused and threatened by the same official.
T-Team coach Azraai Khor Abdullah expressed hope that the authorities would act on the incident immediately.
“There’s nothing more we can do ... we’ll leave it to the authorities to handle it. For now, I want my players to put the incident behind them and focus on their football.
“We have a big match against Armed Forces this Saturday and I want the players to be in the right state of mind,” said Azraai, adding that team morale had not been too affected by the incident.
As for the victims, Azraai said that he understood the concern over their safety in the country.
“We cannot really stop them if they feel unsafe here. But they are good professionals and I think they will get over it,” said Azraai.
Sports Minister wants FAM to do more against corruption
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin wants the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to go after the big fish as well.
He commended FAM for slapping a RM5,000 fine on the 17 Kuala Lumpur players found guilty of match-fixing but said that should not be the end of the matter.
“The players were wrong, but FAM must also act against senior officers of the Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) who exposed their players to bookies, leaving them with no choice but to co-operate,” he told reporters outside a hospital here on Tuesday after visiting a 10-year-old girl, who was slashed by her father recently.
“We will wait for further action from FAM, which should be to investigate these officers.”
On Monday, 17 players from Kuala Lumpur’s 2013 Premier League side were fined RM5,000 each by the FAM disciplinary committee.
In December, FAM had imposed life bans on five KL players and three team officials, including a kitman, for match-fixing. The eight were also fined RM20,000 each.
Khairy also called on FAM to provide any evidence they had on the bookies and officers involved to the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for further action to be taken.
“I hope for swift action once the evidence has been collected ... as we need to do this to battle corruption within the local football industry,” he said.
He commended FAM for slapping a RM5,000 fine on the 17 Kuala Lumpur players found guilty of match-fixing but said that should not be the end of the matter.
“The players were wrong, but FAM must also act against senior officers of the Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) who exposed their players to bookies, leaving them with no choice but to co-operate,” he told reporters outside a hospital here on Tuesday after visiting a 10-year-old girl, who was slashed by her father recently.
“We will wait for further action from FAM, which should be to investigate these officers.”
On Monday, 17 players from Kuala Lumpur’s 2013 Premier League side were fined RM5,000 each by the FAM disciplinary committee.
In December, FAM had imposed life bans on five KL players and three team officials, including a kitman, for match-fixing. The eight were also fined RM20,000 each.
Khairy also called on FAM to provide any evidence they had on the bookies and officers involved to the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for further action to be taken.
“I hope for swift action once the evidence has been collected ... as we need to do this to battle corruption within the local football industry,” he said.
Malaysia not appointing Troussier
Malaysia can forget about hiring renowned coach Philippe Troussier.
Negotiations between the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Frenchman fell through after several rounds of talks, with the last meeting held in Kuala Lumpur recently.
The FAM had wanted a new foreign coach to replace Datuk K. Rajagopal, whose contract was not renewed last December. Troussier was widely seen by many as being FAM’s first choice for the vacant coaching post.
However, all the hype came to naught following a disagreement in the terms of the contract between both parties.
It is learnt that the 58-year-old’s annual tax-free salary was supposed to be €600,000 (RM2.7mil) and that he was to be offered a three-year-deal.
The Frenchman’s deal included the hiring of his two assistants, costing FAM an additional €168,000 (RM760,000) annually.
FAM vice-president Datuk Subahan Kamal confirmed that negotiations with Troussier fell through and “we are looking for a replacement.
“We have not set a time frame to secure a new coach. This is not a busy year for the national team as we only have the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup at the end of the year,” added Subahan at Wisma FAM on Monday.
National Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee will continue to be the caretaker coach of the national team. He will handle the team’s final Asian Cup Group D qualifier against Yemen at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 5.
His first duty as caretaker coach will be the friendly against the Philippines national team at the Selayang Stadium on March 1.
Negotiations between the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Frenchman fell through after several rounds of talks, with the last meeting held in Kuala Lumpur recently.
The FAM had wanted a new foreign coach to replace Datuk K. Rajagopal, whose contract was not renewed last December. Troussier was widely seen by many as being FAM’s first choice for the vacant coaching post.
However, all the hype came to naught following a disagreement in the terms of the contract between both parties.
It is learnt that the 58-year-old’s annual tax-free salary was supposed to be €600,000 (RM2.7mil) and that he was to be offered a three-year-deal.
The Frenchman’s deal included the hiring of his two assistants, costing FAM an additional €168,000 (RM760,000) annually.
FAM vice-president Datuk Subahan Kamal confirmed that negotiations with Troussier fell through and “we are looking for a replacement.
“We have not set a time frame to secure a new coach. This is not a busy year for the national team as we only have the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup at the end of the year,” added Subahan at Wisma FAM on Monday.
National Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee will continue to be the caretaker coach of the national team. He will handle the team’s final Asian Cup Group D qualifier against Yemen at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 5.
His first duty as caretaker coach will be the friendly against the Philippines national team at the Selayang Stadium on March 1.
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