KUALA LUMPUR: The new M-League season is only two months old, and already allegations of unpaid wages have surfaced.
It's learnt that five clubs have difficulty paying the salaries of their players.
It seems the same old problems that have plagued the M-League for years, are not going to go away.
Football observer Sadek Mustafa said if these problems continue, the development of Malaysian football will be greatly hindered.
The UiTM Sports Science and Recreation senior lecturer pointed out that even the lower tiers of the M-League are affected, which acutely necessitates the need for a proper long-term plan from FAM and the Malaysian Football League.
"I have heard about unpaid wages from last month in the M-League; even M3 sides seem to be having the same problems," said Sadek.
"Who's to blame for this? The MFL allows clubs to play even if there are cases of unpaid wages. If they expel these clubs, the league will have fewer teams.
"The clubs need to be transparent with their financial management and wage structure.
"Too often we see players' quality not matching their wages. Until when are these wage issues going to end? We've had M-League clubs having cases with Fifa. It's not good for the sponsors as the M-League appears problematic and always gets bad press.
"It's difficult to understand why clubs overspend or spend money that they don't have. They have to be realistic and honest with their ambitions and abilities."