KUALA LUMPUR: Eleven Malaysian teams or clubs are currently under registration bans imposed by FIFA, the world football governing body.
A check of FIFA's website revealed a total of 33 cases, making Malaysia the country with the highest number of player registration ban cases in Asean.
Newly promoted Super League side Kelantan Red Warrior (KRW) recorded the highest number with nine cases. However, the sanctions were reportedly not the result of wrongdoing by the club itself.
Instead, the outstanding salary cases of KRW were filed because the club allegedly shares the same legacy as Kelantan FC, which is no longer competing in the M-League.
The cases have had a major impact on KRW, preventing them from registering new players to strengthen their squad. The club currently sit bottom of the Super League standings without a point after six matches.
Former Super League side Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) recorded the second-highest number with six cases, followed by Kelantan The Real Warriors with four.
Kelantan FC and Police have three cases each, while Perlis FA and Gombak have two apiece. Perak FC, Terengganu and KL City have one case each.
KL City, which had previously been unlisted from FIFA's registration ban list, have found themselves back on it following a newly activated case on Oct 15 involving an interest claim by Patrick Reichelt.
KL City chairman Syed Yazid Syed Omar was reported to have said that the interest claim stemmed from delayed salary payments to the former import player in 2024.
According to the list of cases on FIFA's website as of Tuesday, Indonesia rank second among Asean countries with 21 cases involving several clubs, followed by Thailand (nine), the Philippines (six), Vietnam (two) and Myanmar (one).
The worldwide list of FIFA player registration bans has reached 1,250 cases, although Malaysia's total does not place the country among those with the highest number of cases.
Turkish clubs account for the highest number of registration ban cases, with 228, followed by Libya (143), Greece (58), China (47), Romania (45) and Bolivia (39).
Clubs from several major football nations also feature on the list, with Brazil recording 21 cases, Argentina (17), Portugal (16), Belgium (nine), Italy (eight), Spain (five) and France (four).
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd