Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Saeed Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the President of Kalba, who were relegated from the Etisalat Pro-League to the amateur division last season, has accused the Sharjah Sports Council (SSC) of directly interfering in the affairs of the clubs of the emirate and appointing members of boards of directors.

Shaikh Saeed added, in an interview with Sharjah TV Sports Channel, that he was ordered to stay away from club affairs from January earlier this year by an official letter from SSC, which demanded that he should not interfere with the club’s affairs and that he could only offer advice.

“Last season was the worst ever in the history of the club,” Shaikh Saeed said. “We faced many problems and obstacles, which led to the team’s relegation to the lower division.

“We needed a new board of directors and the SSC objected three times to the list we sent them featuring the names of the members we thought were capable of helping the club to overcome the hurdles which we face. Ahmad Nassir Al Fardan, the Secretary General of the SSC, changed the names of some of the members we selected and put new names,” Shaikh Saeed added.

“I believe that the only role of the sports councils in all the emirates, specially in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is to help the clubs find financial resources and provide their budgets and help in consultations and technical issues, but they never interfere in the clubs affairs or in selecting members of boards of directors.

“The present board of directors, headed by Hassan Al Qaydi, meets six times a week and solves no problems. They met with the team’s coach eight matches before the end of the season and told him that the team was already relegated and that the coach should tell them which players the club should release. The players and even the members of the technical staff were disappointed and surrendered to their fate instead of fighting in the last weeks to save the club,” Shaikh Saeed said.

He also accused the club’s board of directors of making poor transfers during the winter transfer break.

“They brought Edward Sadomba, who did not add anything to the team and likewise Junior Felicio Marques, while Amer Deep was absent many times in order to play for his country, which affected his concentration in the crucial weeks. As for [striker] Gregory Dufrennes, I was the first person who wanted to end his contract because he did not show even 20 per cent of his usual form.”

He also questioned the ability of new coach Goran Miscevic, commenting: “He is not the suitable coach to lead the team back to the top league. One of the members of the board of directors told me that the coach’s monthly salary is $7000 (Dh25,708). In the 1980s, we used to give no less than $12,000 for the coaches, so how can a good coach accept such a low salary?”