Sumareh's payment delayed by banking technical issues, claims Pahang manager

Pahang FC manager Datuk Suffian Awang has offered an explanation for the incident that triggered Malaysia forward Mohamadou Sumareh's premature exit from the club back in September.

The Gambian-born player had claimed that his departure was caused by the Elephants' failure to pay his salary on time, and he has since joined Thai League 1 side Police Tero. Sumareh and Pahang are currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the club claiming that his move was not done legally.

"What happened was, Sumareh was back in his home country (Gambia) at the time, so the money transfer took some time to be cleared in order to avoid being flagged by the Central Bank of Malaysia [for irregularities]. It was not a matter of him not getting paid as he claimed."

For now, Suffian is urging that the Malaysian FA (FAM) look into the dispute.

"We are currently waiting for FIFA's arbitration over the matter, and we hope for FAM's attention. We want it to be resolved amicably so both parties can move on without the dispute dragging on. It's a big issue now.

"FAM needs to look into this matter and we're just waiting for FIFA's decision over it," he explained to the press in Putrajaya on Wednesday, December 16.

The manager also took the time to explain the outfit's preparations ahead of the 2021 season to the press. He revealed that they are looking for a new head coach, but remarkably the services of Dollah Salleh, their boss for the past four years, will still be retained.

Dollah Salleh. Photo by Sports Regime

"I can reveal that we are planning to appoint a foreign head coach and that several candidates have offered their services. We've shortlisted the qualified ones and a decision will be made soon.

"What we want is someone who not only understands football in Malaysia, but also Southeast Asia... The ability to adapt to Malaysian football will be an advantage to them. Someone who doesn't get Malaysian and Asian football will be a big problem to Pahang.

"But Dollah Salleh will still be with Pahang. He will still be a part of the team and his status will be announced by January [2021],"

Suffian also added that they are currently looking to finalise their Asian and ASEAN foreign player slots, having secured the signings of former Terengganu FC captain Lee Tuck, former Melaka United forward Sergio Aguero and retained centre back Herold Goulon. In the meantime, they have completed the signings of all their local players.