KEDAH – The off-pitch battle between Malaysian Super League heavyweights Kedah Darulmakmur Football Club (KDFC) and Johor Darul Taa’zim (JDT) continues just hours before the two clash in the second leg of the Malaysia Cup quarterfinals at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium tonight.
KDFC president Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor took a swipe at the Southern Tigers for offering “big money” to players from other teams only to keep them on the bench.
“When you buy and keep good players on the bench, they lose their form and that is not something we want to see the best players in the country go through,” said Sanusi, who is also the Menteri Besar of Kedah.
Despite JDT arguably being the best team in the country − after having won eight consecutive Super League titles, two Malaysia Cup wins and a FA Cup title since 2014 − Sanusi believes that Kedah can pull off the victory in Johor.
“Of course, as the president of KDFC, I want our players to win the match tonight but even if we draw, Kedah will still get through and book a spot in the semi-final.
“1-1 or 2-2, it is still a victory for us. This will be good for us as JDT is a strong team with a RM100 mil annual budget and I believe, Kedah has been labelled as bad paymasters by some so I think a victory for us would be sweet,” said Sanusi in a press conference at his office in Alor Setar.
The cold war between both clubs began when JDT owner Tunku Mahkota Johor, Tunku Idris Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim brought up the issue of salary arrears involving the Kedah Darul Aman Football Club (KDA FC) players.
The two had previously exchanged messages on social media regarding this issue, which was reported to have been ongoing for almost two months.
It’s understood that the bad blood between these two figures exploded before the first leg of the Malaysia Cup quarterfinals, which ended in a 0-0 draw. – The Vibes, November 18, 2021
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