31/12/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | DEC 31, 2025

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‘Red Warriors not involved in Corpas salary issue’ KELANTAN Red Warriors FC (KRW FC) has stressed that the club is not involved in the salary arrears claim lodged by former Kelantan FC assis tant coach Pol Corpas with Fifa. day, as KRW FC, which was estab lished in 2024, is clearly not involved in the issue. “We strongly deny any involve “We confirm that KRW FC has been subjected to a Fifa transfer ban since Dec 19, resulting in several club matters, particularly the registration of new players, being delayed. 100% different and not involved with the club that gave rise to Corpas’ report.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS Group A: Zambia 0 Morocco 3 (El Kaabi 9, 50, Diaz 27) , Comoros 0 Mali 0. P W D L F A Pts Morocco (Q) 3 2 1 0 6 1 7 Mali (Q) 3 0 3 0 2 2 3 Comoros 3 0 2 1 0 2 2 Zambia 3 0 2 1 1 4 2 Group B: Angola 0 Egypt 0, Zimbabwe 2 (Maswanhise 19, Modiba 73-og) South Africa 3 (Moremi 7, Foster 50, Appollis 82 pen) . P W D L F A Pts Egypt (Q) 3 2 1 0 3 1 7 S. Africa (Q) 3 2 0 1 5 4 6 Angola 3 0 2 1 2 3 2 Zimbabwe 3 0 1 2 4 6 1 SERIE A: Roma 3 (Soule 14, Kone 19, Ferguson 31) Genoa 1 (Ekhator 87) . P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 16 12 0 4 35 14 36 AC Milan 16 10 5 1 27 13 35 Napoli 16 11 1 4 24 13 34 Roma 17 11 0 6 20 11 33 Juventus 17 9 5 3 23 15 32 Como 16 7 6 3 22 12 27 Bologna 16 7 5 4 24 14 26 Lazio 17 6 6 5 18 12 24 Sassuolo 17 6 4 7 22 21 22 Atalanta 17 5 7 5 20 19 22 Udinese 17 6 4 7 18 28 22 Cremonese 17 5 6 6 18 20 21 Torino 17 5 5 7 17 28 20 Cagliari 17 4 6 7 19 24 18 Parma 16 4 5 7 11 18 17 Lecce 16 4 4 8 11 22 16 Genoa 17 3 5 9 17 27 14 Verona 16 2 6 8 13 25 12 Pisa 17 1 8 8 12 24 11 Fiorentina 17 1 6 10 17 28 9 CHAMPIONSHIP: Coventry City 0 Ipswich 2, Leicester 2 Derby County 1, Middlesbrough 0 Hull City 1, Millwall 2 Bristol City 1, Norwich 0 Watford 1, Oxford United 0 Swansea 1, Portsmouth 2 Charlton Athletic 1, Sheffield Wednes day 0 Blackburn 0, Stoke City 1 Sheffield United 2, West Bromwich Albion 2 Queens Park Rangers 1, Wrexham 2 Preston North End 1, Birmingham 1 Southampton 1. P W D L F A Pts Coventry 24 15 6 3 54 25 51 Mid’boro 24 12 7 5 33 25 43 Ipswich 24 11 8 5 40 23 41 Hull 24 12 5 7 40 37 41 Millwall 24 11 6 7 27 32 39 Watford 24 10 8 6 34 29 38 Preston 24 9 10 5 31 25 37 Bristol City 24 10 6 8 33 27 36 QPR 24 10 5 9 34 37 35 Stoke 24 10 4 10 29 23 34 Wrexham 24 8 10 6 34 31 34 Leicester 24 9 7 8 34 34 34 Southampton 24 8 8 8 38 34 32 Derby 24 8 8 8 33 33 32 Birmingham 24 8 7 9 32 31 31 West Brom 24 9 4 11 28 32 31 Sheff Utd 24 9 2 13 33 37 29 Swansea 24 8 5 11 25 31 29 Blackburn 23 7 6 10 22 26 27 Charlton 23 7 6 10 22 29 27 Portsmouth 23 6 7 10 21 30 25 Oxford 24 5 7 12 24 33 22 Norwich 24 5 6 13 26 36 21 Sheff Wed 23 1 8 14 18 45 -7

“The KRW FC management takes note of the viral issue regarding the Fifa transfer ban and urges all par ties, especially our loyal supporters, to obtain official information from the club should any issue circulate. “We also call on everyone to con tinue giving unwavering support to KRW FC so that success continues to accompany the club and the team until the end of this season,” it said. – Bernama

ment with any previous club, as we have provided an official explana tion to Fifa and it has been accepted, allowing us (KRW FC) to register players to compete this season,” the statement said. According to the statement, the issue resurfaced after the club sought to register new import play ers following the opening of the sec ond transfer window this season.

“This sanction followed a report by Corpas and his lawyer, who attempted to link KRW FC to his for mer club, prompting FifaA to impose the punishment,” the statement said. KRW FC said the club’s current management took over from the previous management beginning August 2025, clearly demonstrating that the club’s administration is

In a statement late on Monday, KRW FC said the foreign assistant coach should instead seek the out standing wages from his former club. “Pol Corpas, who served with the club during the 2022/2023 season, should submit any claims or related matters to the management of his former club, which still exists to this

Give Kim Swee space

Let new football development chief develop plans to achieve targets, says Mohd Yusoff

MAS, Anderson part ways MALAYSIA AQUATICS (MAS) and national head coach Eric Anderson have mutually agreed to part ways effective today following the end of the SEA Games Thailand 2025 cycle. In a state ment yesterday, MAS said the decision was reached as both parties move forward into the next phase of their respective pathways. “MAS would like to express its sincere appreciation and gratitude to Eric for his contributions and service to Malaysian aquatics, and wishes him every suc cess in his future endeavours,” the statement said. As part of the transition, MAS said it has implemented interim programme arrangements “So we cannot restrict him (Kim Swee). If he is tied to the old setup, it may disrupt and limit him from doing better,” he said when met recently. “As he has been appointed, we must give him full trust and authority to deter mine the structure of the coaching line up or the form of the syllabus in address ing weaknesses. “If he is bound by restrictions on what can or cannot be done, it may make things difficult for him. So I think we must give him the space to work creatively in his own way.” Last Monday, Kim Swee, who is also the former head coach of Sabah FC, was announced as the new NFDP Technical Director, BRIEFS N ATIONAL Football Development Programme (NFDP) technical director Datuk Ong Kim Swee (pic) should be given full space to achieve the targets set, said Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) acting president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi. According to Mohd Yusoff, the space given must encompass all aspects, including the evalua tion of the existing or new coaching line-up as well as the development modules to be used. He stressed that it is important for Kim Swee to work with individuals he trusts to help achieve the desired results, in addition to creating a conducive working environment.

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replacing Oscar Francisco Gonzalez, effective Dec 1. The Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (PJBM) president has an extensive reputation and experience, having started as a coach at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (SSBJ) before becoming the main driving force behind the Harimau Muda squad and eventually serving as Harimau Malaya head coach in 2016. The 55-year-old coach was also previously appointed as FAM Technical Director in 2021. However, Kim Swee’s

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appointment was marred by “livelihood” issues among coaches after media reports stated that he was prepared to evaluate the existing coaching staff, whether they remained relevant to be retained or needed to be released for the sustainabil ity of the programme. Media also reported that Kim Swee acknowledged there were parties dissatisfied with the decision and who had acted by issuing negative state ments. – Bernama

RM18,712,917.75

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RM198,439.51

to ensure continuity, stability and the welfare of athletes. Anderson was appointed as national head coach in January last year. M’sia down Vietnam to finish third THE national men’s youth futsal squad did not return home empty-handed as the young squad secured third place at the 2025 Asean U-19 Futsal Championship after defeating Vietnam 4-3 in a penalty shootout in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday. In a hard-fought third-place playoff, the winner had to be decided by penalties after the match ended in a 2-2 draw. The national squad showed great resil ience, coming back from behind twice to change the course of the game. and, so far, has not finalised any candidate, although several coaches have expressed inter est. “It is still too early to make any decision as there have been no detailed discussions, but the club is aware of the need to appoint a new replacement to ensure the team’s preparations run smoothly for the remaining Super League matches,” he said. Melaka FC are currently second from bottom among the 13 teams competing in the Super League this season, having collected only six points from 12 matches. – Bernama

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No replacement yet for coaches: Melaka FC MELAKA FC has yet to make any decision regarding the appointment of a new head coach following the resignations of K Devan and assistant coach S Subramaniam. Mohd Asri Ninggal was in the United Kingdom on certain matters. “However, the club never asked him to resign and we have also requested that he reconsider his decision,” he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.

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Team manager Muhammad Najmi Mohd Nordin said Devan submitted his resignation letter a day after the match against Immigration FC, citing personal reasons, and the manage ment respects the decision. “As for Subramaniam, he submitted his resig nation letter on Sunday night after Melaka FC’s match against Selangor FC. Prior to that, he led the team in the match as interim head coach

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Elaborating further, Muhammad Najmi said Subramaniam has no issues with the Melaka FC management and that the decision was made based on his personal considerations. Commenting on the team’s plans, he said the management has yet to hold an official meeting to discuss a replacement for the head coach

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