French player owed salary fails to pay medical fees
(01-31 18:24)
A French player in Indonesia's premier league who caught typhoid was left unable to afford hospital treatment after his salary was withheld for nine months, an official confirmed Thursday.
Striker Moukwelle Ebanga Sylvain was reportedly struck with typhoid and in November while owed 217 million rupiah (HK$172,665) by his Liga Prima club Persewangi Banyuwangi, AFP reports.
Football fans around the world were outraged when Paraguayan striker, Diego Mendieta, died aged 32 of a viral infection in December, also unable to pay for medical bills with four months' salary withheld by his club Persis Solo.
Liga Prima chief executive Widjajanto admitted Sylvain had been neglected by his club.
"Harsh sanctions must be given to Persewangi as it failed to take care of one of its players,'' he told AFP.
He said the league had recently settled the matter with Sylvain, who has been paid more than US$15,000, has "fully recovered and is looking forward to flying back home''.
Sylvain's case is another embarrassment for Indonesian football, which performs poorly on the world stage and has for years been marred by corruption allegations, leaderships tussles and poor security at major matches.
The sport again plunged into chaos in 2011 as a rival administration kicked off its own rebel top-tier league, splitting the nation's best teams and prompting FIFA to threaten expulsion from international competition.
The Liga Prima said it would submit a recommendation for the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) to sanction Persewangi Banyuwangi.
PSSI secretary-general Halim Mahfudz said the association would "possibly fine them or bar the club from taking part in competitions for a certain period of time''.
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