KUALA LUMPUR: The Amateur Football League (AFL) have defended their decision to allow Melaka FC to compete in the M3 division this season.
AFL president Datuk Yusof Mahadi stressed that Melaka FC is a different entity from Melaka United and the AFL board of directors felt that barring them from the competition would disrupt football development in the state.
Melaka United were not able to secure a national licence to compete in the Super League this season due to unpaid wages owed to their players.
"Melaka United is considered as a different company with different ownership and their owner and shareholders are liable for their debts. The claimants - players, team officials or other parties - can take legal action against Melaka United," said Yusof today.
"To us, Melaka FC is considered as a new team and the AFL board of directors decided that it was unfair to bar them from competing because it will affect Melaka's football development.
"All state FAs are FA of Malaysia (FAM) members and if we don't allow them to compete, the state teams will lose their platform to conduct development.
"If we ban them from playing, football in the state will die off and we cannot do that."
Yusuf added that the situation was similar to what happened with Perlis. Perlis FA are still under Fifa sanction from 2019 due to unpaid wages. Perlis United FC have since emerged as the state's sole representative in domestic competition.