FORMER National Coach B.Sathianathan takes on his former employer - FA of Malaysia for unlawful dismissal. The case will heard at the Shah Alam Labour court at 11.30 am today. Sathianathan who guided Malaysia to win the Merdeka Tournament in 2007 and the finals in 2008, is claiming that FAM's one month notice is not valid and unacceptable especially when the Key Performance Indicator (KPI's) was not given to him during the extension of the contract.
JAIHO checked with the legal department in FIFA, and it was revealed that the sacking was not valid and the FAM might have to compensate one year salary including damages claimed by Sathianathan who hails from Muar.
This is the story that I wrote on the day exco decided to sack Sathianathan and Manager Datuk Soh Chin Aun (Jan 2, 2009)
Yesterday, the FAM executive committee, as predicted by Timesport on Saturday, sacked B. Sathianathan as the national coach but what wasn't expected was Datuk Soh Chin Aun's removal as team manager.
The problem is the manager of the national team is FAM deputy president Khairy Jamaluddin and not Chin Aun, a situation which left the officials at the press conference rather sheepish.
The press conference started on a routine note, if the sacking of individuals can ever be termed as that, with another FAM deputy president Datuk Redzuan Sheikh Ahmad announcing the decision.
"The exco decided to terminate's Sathianathan's contract and also the position of Datuk Soh Chin Aun as the team manager. Datuk (Capt (R)) Gulzar Mohamad is the new team manager," said Redzuan.
"The committee, chaired by Sultan Ahmad Shah, felt that new blood is needed to bring changes to the national team."
When pointed out that Khairy, and not Chin Aun, was officially listed as the national team manager, Redzuan responded: "I don't know how to answer the question. Even though, in our official minutes, it is Khairy Jamaluddin who is the team manager, the job was delegated to Chin Aun."
Asked what the criteria would be, seeing as FAM had decided new blood was needed not only for the coaching aspect but also of that of the manager, Redzuan said: "At this point in time, we have a set of guidelines and the national team management committee is going to oversee the national team's movements and performance. As for the next national coach, we will announce the candidate soon."
K. Rajagopal is expected to be the caretaker coach but Sathianathan, when contacted, said he wasn't surprised with the decision.
"I expected it and I wish FAM and the players the best. I have no complaints but if I am being sacked because I said the M-League is not football, then I accept the decision in good faith," said Sathianathan.
"Sacking me is not going to change the fate of Malaysian football if people are not sincere in what they do."
Chin Aun also looked at it in a philosophical manner.
"Managing Malaysia is not like managing Manchester United. I did it for the love of the game. I played at the highest level for Malaysia but if this is what it is meant to be, I accept," said Chin Aun.
WELL DONE JAIHO, EVEN THE BLOGS ARE SCOPPING THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA. WORKING WITH DATELINE I SEE.. HA HA HA KHAWARI ALSO HAD THE STORY .. ALL THE BEST TO SATHIA, FAM SHOULD COMPENSATE HIM, ALL THE WAY... THEY HAVE NO RESPECT FOR COACHES LA BRO.. BILA MINUM TEH ..
ReplyDeleteOrang cakap M-League bukan bola pun kena sack, bila cakap M-league is football pun kena sack apa macam ini, macam Anwar Ibrahim kata la bro tak ada rule of the law, ini ikut rule of the jungle ini ... Hidup Sathia he he he
ReplyDeleteNothing suprises us anymore. Politicians way of doing things. This is how coaches and players have been treated all this while - not important, officials are more important in Malaysian football. Time someone puts a stop to all this s..t.
ReplyDeleteHow come only Sathianathan was given KPI what about K.Rajagopal, why there was no mention of KPI at all, will Redzuan resign if they fail in Laos Sea Games. FAM same old load of rubbish ..
ReplyDeleteFAM biasa la sikap tak peduli itu saja, buat sesuka hati bro. Hentam lagi bro. Hentam cukup cukup .. bila lagi wisel penamat .. he he he
ReplyDeleteK Rajagopal anak emas Redzuan. Resign.....? Kalau betul-betul gentlemen dan lama resign. Asyik "this team is the future of Malaysian football". Same old song Dato.....rakyat dah boring.
ReplyDeleteCoaches should be treated with respect. Dont treat local coaches like a dirt!
ReplyDeletewell done jaiho...sathia will win his case for sure. win win for malaysia.
ReplyDeletefor the game. for the world.
this is an interesting case..i'm sure sathia will win and just imagine FAM will have to pay his one whole year of wages and damages..wow! that is a huge amount of money dude!..he can stay a float without working for another year...jaiho..keep me posted ya with this case..btw..how's ur middle east job doing??
ReplyDeleteDear Friends thank you for the comments and suggestions. On a personal note I think FAM has to be professional and transparent.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly they must treat local coaches with respect, whether it's Sathia, Rajagopal or Dollah Salleh or Ong Kim Swee, they deserve respect that's all. I find it very frustrating when foreign coaches who have been in Malaysia walk away with murder. Yet FAM have consistently bailed them out. Justice must Prevail.
Anon 9.28 : My job is going on well, thanks bro give me a call when you are free. God Bless
Jaiho, very true I think what Sathia has done in a way will affect the way FAM conduct things with regard to local coaches in the future. As often the case is the local coaches get the shorter end of the stick, whereas foreign coaches can channel their complains to Fifa, our coaches have nowhere else to go!
ReplyDelete