
Appeals Committee reduces Alam Shah suspension to 7 months
Singapore and Tampines Rovers forward Noh Alam Shah has had his 12-month suspension reduced to 7 months by the FAS Appeals Committee (AC) chaired by lawyer Mr Michael Kuah.
FAS DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE HEARING
Alam Shah had earlier pleaded guilty before the FAS Disciplinary Committee (DC) on 10 December 2007 to two disciplinary charges of violent conduct and aggressive behaviour and was suspended from playing in “all FAS-sanctioned tournaments and matches for a period of one (1) year and fined $2,000”. He did not appeal the decision then within the prescribed period of seven days as he was of the understanding that the suspension was a local one.
REJECTION OF REGISTRATION TO PLAY IN MALAYSIAN LEAGUE
Alam Shah then secured a contract to play in Malaysia for Polis Di-Raja Malaysia (PDRM). However, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) subsequently refused his registration to play for PDRM once they became aware of the disciplinary sanction imposed on Alam Shah and after clarifying with FIFA.
FIFA’s clarification to FAM was on the basis that Article 12 of the Status & Transfer of Players Regulations (Transfer Regulations) where “any disciplinary suspension imposed on a player prior to transfer must be enforced by the new association at which the player is registered…”
BASIS OF FILING APPEAL OUT OF TIME
A global sanction on Alam Shah was not intended by the DC. As FIFA’s clarification came only after Alam Shah had secured a contract to play for PDRM, he was therefore not informed that if found guilty (at the DC hearing), there may be a global ban on him for the duration of the suspension because of Article 12 of the Transfer Regulations.
Alam Shah then filed for permission to appeal out of time against the 1 year suspension imposed on him but did not appeal against the fine of $2,000 imposed by the DC.
APPEALS COMMITTEE’S DECISION
AC noted that a global sanction on Alam Shah was not intended by the DC. AC also noted that FIFA’s clarification on Article 12 of the Transfer Regulations came only after Alam Shah had secured a contract to play for PDRM. He was therefore not informed that if found guilty, there may be a global ban on him for the duration of the suspension.
It is only fair that the concerned party should be aware of the extent of punishment that he faces upon being found guilty to guide him in deciding whether or not to appeal. The AC therefore allowed Alam Shah to appeal out of time.
In considering the appeal against sentence, the AC was mindful that they were an appellate tribunal deciding on the disciplinary punishment to be given for misconduct committed on the field of play.
In determining the disciplinary punishment, Rule 9.2 of the S.League rules states that the DC may be “guided by the list of disciplinary measures as specified in the FIFA Disciplinary Code”.
Article 48 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code deals with punishment for misconduct against players. The overall suspension imposed on any player receiving a direct red card in addition to the automatic suspension shall be for at least 2 matches for serious foul play (particularly in the case of excessive or brute force); at least 2 matches for unsporting conduct towards an opponent or a person other than a match official; at least 2 matches for assaulting (elbowing, punching, kicking, etc) an opponent other than a match official with the possibility of a fine being imposed in all cases. The punishment would still have to depend on the facts of each case.
There is no dispute in this case that Alam Shah was guilty of violent conduct and aggressive behaviour which are serious breaches. The issue that the AC had to address was the duration of the suspension to be imposed that is proportionate to the disciplinary guilt of Alam Shah.
The ground that the AC agreed merit consideration was Alam Shah’s plea that he had serious unresolved personal and family problems during the period leading up to and during the RHB Singapore Cup Final. The AC was satisfied that these problems weighed heavily on Alam Shah’s mind and impaired his judgement and frame of mind. The DC had not considered this factor. Alam Shah had not brought it to the DC’s attention as he had felt then that it was a private family matter and did not wish it to be made public.
The suspension of 1 year, which is now global – which was not the intention of the DC - will effectively debar him from earning his livelihood as a professional football player for the period in question. As a result, there is a difficulty in him meeting financial commitments and providing for his 5 children aged between 1 and 8 years of age.
He has also expressed remorse and apologised for his unwarranted violent conduct and aggressive behaviour. Having considered the above factors, the AC came to the decision to reduce the 1 year suspension to a suspension for a period of 7 months with effect from the date of the DC hearing on 10 December 2007. Alam Shah will now serve his suspension up to 9 July 2008.
He will effectively miss at least 16 S.League matches and 3 Singapore Cup matches for his club as well as the entire third round (6 matches) of our Lions’ FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign during the period of his suspension.
Says Mr Kuah, “We are satisfied from the evidence given and tendered by Noh Alam Shah that those personal problems weighed heavily on his mind and impaired his judgement and frame of mind. It was also not the intention of the DC to impose a global sanction on Alam Shah and we have taken that into consideration.”
freaking noobs.
imposed the ban but lack of knowledge on the rules and regulations from fifa. fas should wake up their idea.
this alam shah, father of 5, should also set a good example, having unresolved personal and family problems doesn't warrant the right to take it out on someone else, esp at national level and towards own teammates. absolute disgrace.
no income for the suspension period? can't work elsewhere? excuses may arises from reasons such as the necessity to maintain fitness and skill levels during suspension period, so can't work. all i can say it fck it. you blew, you own problem.
i feel they should have upheld the 1 year ban.
My question is... how can someone who had earlier pleaded guilty then didn't appeal during the given time allowed to appeal after so long?...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1_zZ2ErAVE
This was why he got the ban in the first place... Saw how he elbow Bennett in the air then kneed him when he was getting up while Bennett was still on the ground... In between that he also took a swing at one of the opponent players... Even the referee seems scare of him man... It needed 4 to 5 men to restrain him... He even went for a photographer at the end... ![]()
ok i saw glimpses of the incident on the utube.. dunoe why not working so well.. anyways, wtf is wrong with him? This a sad typical issue of SG football.. Talented players but big big attitude problems.. causing intentional bodily harm.. Not jailable offence?
i thought he should be put in prison for assault.. and banned for life..
he's a danger to other players..
FAS has established disciplinary procedures in place, involving a separate and independent disciplinary committee (DC) and appeals committee (AC). These are manned by committed volunteers, most legally trained. Under this process, a separate tribunal heard Alam Shah's appeal and assessed the case in light of points and fresh evidence he raised to decide whether the original punishment should stand and if not, appropriate punishment.
No two cases are exactly alike. While the AC took into account precedent cases, it also carefully considered the circumstances of the case before it. Alam Shah's sentence was not reduced because he is a talented player. Nor was he given preferential treatment.
In particular, the AC took into account the unintended effect of a global ban on the player as this was not the intention of the DC when it meted out punishment on Dec 10. In this regard, Alam Shah submitted fresh evidence to show the global ban caused him and his family considerable financial hardship, especially as he has five young children, aged between eight and one, to feed. This was particularly so as the costs of living has gone up.
Alam Shah also submitted fresh evidence to show he had serious unresolved personal and family problems that impaired his judgment and affected his frame of mind that night. The DC did not consider this factor as Alam Shah did not raise this argument then, hoping to keep it a private matter.
These factors were not before the DCs in the cases of Shariff Abdul Samat and Nicodeme Boucher, who did not appeal against their sentences. Indeed, while Boucher was suspended for one year from June 2000, he resumed his playing career after his association applied for and received the international transfer certificate a month after his suspension in Singapore.
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para -->Shariff's nine-month suspension caused him to miss the last four matches of the 2003 S-League season. He served the rest of his suspension while in full-time national service. On the other hand, Alam Shah's seven-month suspension will cause him to miss 16 S-League matches, three Singapore Cup matches and all six matches in the third round of Singapore's ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign.
The FAS Exco supports the decision of the AC to reduce Alam Shah's ban to seven months. It notes that the AC sought guidance from Article 48 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code, which came into effect on Sept 1 last year. On offences resulting from serious foul play through the use of excessive or brute force, including assaulting, elbowing, punching or kicking an opponent, Article 48's guideline is that automatic suspension as a result shall be for at least two matches, with the possibility of a fine.
There is no dispute that Alam Shah was guilty of violent conduct and aggressive behaviour. The AC took into consideration the fact that he has expressed remorse and apologised unreservedly for his actions.
Winston Lee
General Secretary, FAS
& S-League CEO
Story from ST Forum May 5, 2008
clang123
Eagle2004
kacewang
mshen
Alam Shah: S'poreans, not FAS, scored own goal
I REFER to the reports, 'FAS' about-turn in Alam Shah's case a let-down' last Thursday and 'Fined $1,000 for hitting taxi driver' last Wednesday as well as the letters on Friday, 'FAS should not have gone soft on Alam Shah' and 'Question the timing'.
The first violent act, on a football pitch, was committed by a Singaporean footballer, Noh Alam Shah. The second violent act, unlike the first, is a criminal offence. It was committed by a foreigner, Briton Andrew Bevan Jones.
I am perplexed by the strong negative reaction to the reduction of Alam Shah's sentence and the lack of similar reaction in Jones' case.
We have a Singaporean footballer whose livelihood was put in jeopardy by a technicality which, I believe, had been ignored by some foreign football governing bodies in the past.
Remember Abbas Saad, Singapore's former Malaysia Cup player, and Lutz Pfannenstiel, Geylang United's former S-League player? Both were banned from playing football in Singapore for life, but still managed to resume their football careers elsewhere.
However, Alam Shah's attempt to play in Malaysia was blocked by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The FAM, unlike foreign football associations in the cases of Abbas and Pfannenstiel, decided to activate a regulation which effectively turned his sentence into a worldwide ban.
So it is only right that the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) reduce Alam Shah's sentence, since its original intention was not to restrict his livelihood.
There is also no indication that Alam Shah's talent played a part in FAS' decision to reduce his sentence. He won't be eligible to play in any of Singapore's crucial remaining World Cup third- round qualifying matches.
In Jones' case, he resorted to violence during a financial dispute with a taxi driver. I believe Jones will be allowed to remain in Singapore with his rice bowl intact, even though he has committed a criminal offence in our own backyard.
Comparing these two cases, the 'disastrous own goal' Sports reporter Wang Meng Meng alluded to last Thursday ('FAS' about-turn in Alam Shah's case a let-down''), was scored not by FAS but by Singaporeans, judging by their different reactions to the two violent acts.
As for Alam Shah, I look forward to him donning the Lions jersey again and doing Singapore proud. If we can be so forgiving of Jones, surely we can do the same for Alam Shah.
Michael Ang