THE president of the Yalalevu Club Football (YFC) team of the Ba Football Association Ranji Lal is claiming unfair and political play from parent body the Fiji Football Association and Ba FA.
After being told to participate in a rematch of the regional league decider against Flying Arrows, despite having finished at the top of the league on a better goal average upon completion, Lal has expressed his frustration with the situation.
The Yalalevu team believed they had rightfully earned their spot in the National Cup Championships after their performance in the Ba Regional League.
“We are not happy with Fiji FA decision and Ba Football. They made a political play with my club,” said Lal.
“There was no fight or no bad weather on game day. We’ve played football for a long time and this never happened to us. Parents send their children to play soccer and look that this.
“As club president. I am paying the players money for every game and look at Fiji FA’s decision, we are not happy.
“They emailed to us that we have qualified and telling to start train the boys. After five days, they said in an email that we need to play a rematch.”
Despite reaching out to Fiji FA for clarification and explanation, Lal stated that the responses from the authorities were lacking and unsatisfactory.
An email was sent to the club on November 6 by Fiji FA competitions officer Nivash Kumar states “This is to confirm that Yalalevu Club Football has been confirmed for participation in this year’s NCC held from December 5-8,” which served as a confirmation for the club.
“I got confirmation from Fiji FA to prove that we have qualified for the National Club Championship. We have sent them emails on the matter for what’s the change, they haven’t replayed anything.”
In response to Lal’s allegations, Fiji FA CEO Mohammed Yusuf acknowledged the investigation into the regional league’s administration and qualification process.
While he did not delve into specifics, Yusuf defended the decision to order a rematch between the top two teams in the league, as per the regulations set forth by the association.
“It was a social media post. In Fiji FA policy we don’t comment when somebody goes on social media, but I can confirm that the investigation was done in regards to how the regional football league was run to nominate a club. As a result, it was found that it was not run the required regulation,” said Yusuf.
“As a result, the top two team we have ordered them to have a reply, whoever qualifies will represent Ba.
“We don’t want to get into details, because they have gone into social media.
“We did our own investigation and upon that the board made a decision.”
Regardless of the outcome of the rematch, Lal announced that Yalalevu Club Football will not participate in the rescheduled match.
He also expressed his intention to shut down the club due to the behavior of Fiji FA and Ba Football, which he deemed unjust and unacceptable.
The rematch is scheduled for 1pm at the FFA Academy Ground in Ba.
According to Ba FA, no spectators will be allowed to watch the game as heavy police presence will be at the ground.
