Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the deputy president of the FA Malaysia, pays a courtesy call on King Abdullah ll Ibn Al Hussein in Amman, Jordan last Sunday.
Three venues - the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium (Kuala Terengganu), Sultan Mohd IV Stadium (Kota Baru) and Larkin Stadium (Johor Baru) -- have unplayable pitches and dim floodlights.
According to the FAM competition committee's inspection report, the surface of the fields at these stadiums have gaping holes and uneven patches.
FAM competition committee chairman Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the concerned teams cannot play their matches in these stadiums.
"We have rejected these venues and have informed the concerned teams to do the necessary to rectify the problem.
"Teams cannot play good football in these stadiums. We have given them until Friday to deal with the problem," said Hamidin after chairing the competition committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.
If these stadiums are not fixed soon, four teams -- Terengganu, T-Team, Kelantan (Super League) and Johor -- will have to start their season playing at an alternative venue.
"The affected teams who are scheduled to play their opening matches at home must inform us by Friday on whether their respective venues are playable. We will inspelct them before making a decision.
"If nothing is done then Terengganu, T-Team and Kelantan will have to look for alternative venues while Johor can schedule their home match at the JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang," said Hamidin.
Other venues - Perak Stadium (Ipoh), Likas Stadium (Kota Kinabalu), Selayang Stadium (Kuala Lumpur), JCorp Stadium (Pasir Gudang), MBPJ Stadium (Kelana Jaya) and Sarawak Stadium (Kuching) all have bad lighting.
Affected teams -- Perak, Johor FC, Sabah (Super League), Armed Forces, Pos Malaysia, Young Tigers 'B', PKNS, Sime Darby FC, Sarawak and MP Muar (Premier League) will be forced to play their home matches in the evening.
Premier League side Penang have requested to play all their matches in the evening.
According to the M-League guidelines, stadium floodlights must be set-up to at least 800 Lux for night matches.
FAM has been lenient over the years on quality of pitches and lighting but Hamidin, also a FAM vice president, has decided to get tough.
"The past is the past. As long I am competition committee chairman, I want the league to run smoothly. Matches cannot be played at stadiums which have not complied to FAM and Fifa requirements.
"We, however, acted lenient on the lighting specification as Fifa rules state that lighting must be set-up to at least 1,200 Lux," he said.
The competition committee has also rejected Astro's request to bring forward the season opener Charity Shield match between Selangor and Kelantan by a day to Jan 28.
"It was brought up during the meeting but we decided to reject the idea. Our dates have been fixed. We cannot reschedule matches to accommodate concerned parties," added Hamidin.
By Ajitpal Singh
ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my
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