Frustrated referees want meeting with FAM president

SOME national referees, fed-up with Lt Col (Rtd) Kamaruddin Sakhari - the head of their department - are seeking an audience with FA of Malaysia president Sultan Ahmad Shah to vent their frustration. The referees department, since last year, has come under fire from the media for the unprofessional way it has dealt with some of its members. This year, some referees whose credentials are questionable, have been assigned to local league matches. Appointments of match commissioners and referees inspectors have also been criticised. "We are sick and tired with FAM (for not looking into the matter). We have complained on numerous occasions and have even written to FAM, but until today we have not received any feedback, and the same person is allowed to manage the department," said a current Fifa referee who did not want to be identified. Things took a turn for the worse when a Singapore official, who is also an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) staff member, was appointed as the match commissioner for a recent Premier League match. Also, there were appointments of referees which were not justified, not to mention officials arriving late for matches. All this has been very frustrating for some referees. The late Nazri Abdullah, who was also the FAM referee's committee chairman, had expressed his disappointment and had met with FAM general secretary Lt Jen (rtd) Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad and informed him that the department had to be revamped. Even referees committee deputy chairman Datuk Soh Chin Aun agreed that the head of the referees department cannot be doing as he pleases. "We have rules and regulations and that must be followed. We want to progress," said Chin Aun. Despite Chin Aun's assurance that something will be done regarding the matter, there are unhappy individuals who contacted Timesport to express their disappointment. It is understood that about 70 referees have signed a letter of protest which is expected to be delivered to the FAM president next week.