New Radiant Sports Club has said that the reason for their suspension from FAM was owed to the fact the club was about to carry out an Extraordinary Congress of the FAM.

Football Association of Maldives (FAM) had announced the suspension of New Radiant S.C from any activities held by the Association, yesterday. The reason cited for the suspension was that New Radiant had failed to pay wages and allowances of 10 players since August.

New Radiant had released a statement in response to FAM’s actions and said that the suspension was was nonsensical. The Sports Club has said today that while there are several clubs that have delays in paying their players, it was unacceptable that it was New Radiant that was specifically targeted for suspension.

The club also noted that there are pending payments owed by FAM to the club since 2016. The statement said that the club had declared their intent to resolve salary and wage issues on 23 January 2019 to the Player Status Committee of FAM. The Sports Club also stated that the FAM committee had then commended the club on their payment efforts.

The statement had also said that the club will not give importance to FAM’s measures and will carry on for the progress of football in Maldives.

The statement released by New Radiant Sports Club also made various allegations against FAM.

New Radiant S.C. accused FAM of mixing politics with football and conducting political offices inside FAM buildings. The club further claimed that FAM had gone ahead with major matters concerning football without any discussions with clubs or the Association's Executive Board. There were also allegations that FAM had officially brought changes to  details of the football season without consulting either clubs or organizational committees of the Association.