Sabah sidelined from Malaysia Cup, handed automatic league defeat

Borneo-based Malaysia Super League side Sabah have been sidelined from the coming Malaysia Cup, announced the Malaysian Football League (MFL) on Thursday.

On top of the ejection, they have also been handed a 3-0 defeat for their round 11 league home encounter against UiTM FC, the only top-tier match yet to be played this season.

The decisions were reached by the MFL board after a meeting on Wednesday, October 28, due to the failure of the Rhinos to obtain the National Security Council’s permission to leave the state of Sabah, which has been placed under a Covid-19 lockdown until November 9.

The clash against UiTM had initially been moved to the Hang Jebat Stadium, Melaka on October 31.

Fortunately, Sabah are still safe from relegation despite the defeat, as they have cleared the relegation zone.

The statement issued by MFL chief Dato’ Ab Ghani Hassan provided more detail:

“Sabah’s exemption application has been denied, rendering their league match unplayable, therefore UiTM are handed a 3-0 win. Their 14-day self quarantine [if Sabah were to arrive in West Malaysia on October 29] will only end after the first round of the Malaysia Cup has been played.

“The team that is drawn against Sabah in the first round of the 2020 Malaysia Cup will also receive a 3-0 win and qualify for the quarter-finals. Sabah will remain in the Super League for 2021 and will not receive a punishment for this matter.”

MFL has also decided that despite an earlier request from a number of teams, the bottom two top-tier finishers; Felda United and PDRM FA will still be relegated as per the original league regulations.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s Malaysia Cup competition will be run in a truncated, single-legged straight knockout format, which will kick off on November 6. The draw for the cup will take place on Sunday, November 1.