Diouf stripped of Rhinos captaincy
Published on: Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: El Hadji Diouf's honeymoon period with Sabah Rhinos team looks set to end on a bitter note as he was branded unprofessional and has been stripped of the captain's armband by the team management following his recent criticism of Sabah Football Association (Safa) and the no show in training since the session resumed last Monday.Team manager Datuk Seri TC Goh (pic) said on Sunday that the player should not have been absent from the team's training session nor should he get involved with other teams where he openly praised JDT as he was under contract with Safa."It is a very sad case and as team manager of Sabah Rhinos, I would say Hadji Diouf is unprofessional, because he is the captain of Sabah Rhinos and during the current season he should not have got involved with any other team including JDT because Sabah has a contract with him, and he has the obligation to play for Sabah as he is on our payroll.
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"I don't know what is his problem, I only know I am still paying his salary, so please play football for me and I don't want to know any of his other issues."I wouldn't want to comment on his character but when we took him to play here in Sabah, we were hoping that he will represent us and in the first half of the season, he was great and played all out for us, but his mood has changed since the match against JDT II in May (Sabah won the 4-2 from 2-0 down).Goh also confirmed that Diouf is unlikely to play for the team against KL SPA Putrajaya this Friday."We are going to have an away match on July 31 against KL SPA Putrajaya FC (in KL), and the team will continue to train, without Hadji Diouf we have no problem and the team can still proceed."
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He said suspension of the former World Cup star is imminent and he also touched on the subject raised by Diouf on the lack of vision and mission by Safa."When he comes back and if he does, we will suspend him and to answer another question about his comment on the vision and mission of Safa, first of all I would like to say here, as a player you have no right to question the management.
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"Whether the management has a mission or vision or not, we will not disclose to any player, this is our strategy, am I right? In fact our mission and vision had been transpired to our opponents by Hadji Diouf as seen in the TV Johor FA recently."In the TV Johor FA footage, then Johor Football Association President Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim was seen saying Diouf is willing to build a JDT academy on his own land in Senegal and JDT will get the monetary returns from the proceed of selling players to European countries.Diouf was also quoted as willing to play for JDT without any money because of his love for the state as well as being impressed by the vision and mission of the club."As a CEO of the team I would like to urge each and every state FA to please respect the rules and regulations of FAM (Football Association of Malaysia), otherwise it will not benefit any individual, will not benefit the players, will not benefit the associations or the clubs nor Malaysian football."Diouf's contract will run until the end of the season in December and if JDT really like to have him, please do so through proper procedure and pay us, and that is my advice."When asked whether Diouf has been stripped of his captaincy, "yes, we cannot afford to pass the captain's baton to someone who sleeps with the enemy and we will leave it to the head coach to select a new captain for the away match on July 31."He also disclosed that they do not have any issue with the rest of the players.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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