AFC Champions League
In the job I do I
expect scrutiny and occasional criticism, it goes with the territory. I
understand that in trying to improve and develop football in Hong Kong, I will
ruffle a few feathers along the way. However when that criticism is unjust,
personally defamatory and questions my integrity, I am entitled to defend
myself.
Last Friday (timed
perfectly so I was out of the country) Kitchee held a press conference and I
was personally blamed for an ‘administrative blunder’ the result of which means
that Kitchee will not be playing in the AFC Champions League Group stages. I
have received further criticism from Southern (the second club affected) for a
lack of communication.
I have to set the
record straight on these issues.
I am in a difficult
situation here. I do not normally discuss what happens in Board meetings
because I do not think it is the right thing to do. However, Kitchee has already
made it public knowledge that I disagreed with the original Board decision to
nominate Kitchee and Southern for places in AFC Club competitions for 2017. I
think it was indiscrete of Kitchee to mention in public what happened behind
closed doors and I can only assume that the only reason the club is
highlighting this is because they think I somehow failed to implement the
Board’s resolution because I didn’t agree with the decision. I have been
further accused of impartiality because they think I favoured Eastern over
Kitchee. These accusations are untrue and serious. I have asked the club to
retract them but I won’t hold my breath waiting for a response.
It is true that at
the Board meeting in August I advised the Board to nominate Eastern and Kitchee
in that order in accordance with the AFC criteria. I could see no justification
to reject Eastern because they had won the League, had submitted an AFC
Champions League Licence application and had written to the HKFA asking to
withdraw their previous letter which stated they had financial problems. My
advice was rejected. You can argue that it was taken in good faith because at
that time we did not know definitively how many places we would have in the AFC
CL or whether club licence applications would be successful. It was
theoretically possible (but unlikely) that Kitchee would be eligible for the
AFC CL (if Eastern did not get an AFC club licence) and Southern eligible to be
entered into the AFC Cup (if we only got one place in the AFC CL). However, I
believed it was the wrong decision then and I still do. It is one reason why we
are in this mess right now.
Another reason of
course which no-one seems to be mentioning is that Kitchee did not win the
League. If they had, none of this would have happened. Perhaps they should use
this as motivation to win the HKPL this season.
There seems to be an
assumption that whichever teams Hong Kong nominate will automatically be
entered into the competition. I am being blamed for the fact that now it
appears that Kitchee can’t play in the group stages. What is being conveniently
forgotten is that it is not our competition and therefore not our decision. All
we can do is nominate teams.
The ultimate
decision does not even rest with the AFC. To avoid any accusations of bias or
misconduct, the AFC has established an independent competitions committee to
make decisions in relation to the AFC Club Competitions. At the time of writing
this committee has not met. It meets on 24th November.
Based on our
ranking now, the HKFA are likely to get two places in the CL. The criteria that
the independent committee will apply in deciding which teams from each Member
Association will be eligible have not changed. As far as the AFC CL is
concerned it has always been the League Champions (Eastern) that should get the
number 1 place. That is why it is called the Champions League. The number 2
position goes to the winner of the ‘domestic’ cup competition.
Eligibility to play
in the CL is however first and foremost based on whether or not the club has an
AFC CL club licence. Eastern had decided in April to apply for this level
licence and had submitted all of the documentation required by the AFC deadline
of 30th June. It is important to note that this was BEFORE the Board meeting to
decide which team to nominate.
Kitchee’s argument
that the HKFA (and me in particular) in some way favoured Eastern in relation
to the attainment of a club licence is simply not true. It is not the HKFA that
grants the licence. There is an independent First Instance Body that assesses
applications and ultimately it is the AFC that decides. Again the clue is in
the title, it is an AFC CL Club Licence, not a HKFA Club Licence.
It is
understandable that Kitchee is upset that Eastern have an AFC Club Licence
because that means that Kitchee are not eligible for the number 1 position. This
obviously puts the club in a difficult situation with players, coaches, fans,
sponsors etc because there has been an expectation following the Board’s
decision that they will be playing in the group stages. The truth is that this
was only ever an assumption.
The contention that
I am in some way responsible for Eastern obtaining a licence is simply not a
sustainable position. It is my job to encourage clubs and to help them to apply
for the higher level AFC Licence because it is a good tool for self-improvement
and demonstrates to the football authorities that Hong Kong football is
professional. I am not paid to block application and in any case as I have
pointed out, the application was submitted before the decision as to which
clubs to nominate. It is worth pointing out that the Secretariat helped four
clubs gain the AFC CL Club Licence, Eastern, Kitchee, South China and Southern.
In the case of Southern, the Secretariat worked with the club on an
‘extraordinary’ application after the Board’s decision because they had missed
the deadline to apply. This is hardly indicative of an administration working
against a Board resolution. At the end of the day the clubs decide whether to
apply, not the HKFA. Again, I reiterate the HKFA does not award the licences
either.
Another point being
overlooked is that if it wasn’t for the hard work of the HKFA Secretariat lead
by me to introduce a club licence into Hong Kong football (and many of the
clubs fought against it), Hong Kong would not have a place in the group stages
of the AFC CL. The fact that we are now one of only 6 Member Associations in
East Asia (the others being Australia, China, Japan, Korea Republic and
Thailand) eligible for this status is testament to how far we have come. We
should be being thanked not denigrated.
Another thing that
was missing from Kitchee’s condemnation of me was any reason why I would favour
one team over another. It simply doesn’t make sense. I want all of the teams in
Hong Kong to be as successful as possible. I hold Kitchee in high regard and
have been consistent in saying so. In many respects they are an example to the
other clubs in Hong Kong.
One the main
criticisms of me was that in October I was made aware that the AFC independent
committee when it meets on 24th November may annul the number 1
position for HK clubs if Eastern is not nominated and they obtain a club
licence. It is true that this information was brought to my attention but only
indirectly and unofficially. I requested that this information be put in
writing so I could take some official action. I was told that this could not
happen and to date no official confirmation has ever been received. I can’t act
on second hand information that wasn’t even sent to me from a person I don’t
know. I did not deliberately withhold information from any of the clubs.
I was not personally
aware that the HK application needed to be submitted on Monday 14th
until the evening of Sunday 13th. Up until then I assumed that we
would need to apply after the AFC independent committee had met on the 24th
to confirm how many teams would be eligible to play. Because I was aware that
there was a ‘potential’ issue I asked our General Secretary to put an
‘Emergency Item’ on our Board Agenda for 5th December. I thought we
would have time to address the issue after the committee decision but before
the AFC CL/Cup Draw which is due to be held on 13th December.
As soon as I
realized the urgency of the situation I phoned the AFC General Secretary who
confirmed the likely outcome i.e. the committee would decide that HK should
lose its number one place. Faced with this information I informed the Chairman
and had a long conversation with Ken Ng from Kitchee. I tried all that day (Monday
14th) to get the Board to change the resolution but failed to get a
sufficient number before the deadline. Therefore the Secretariat had no option
but to apply on behalf of Kitchee and Southern in accordance with the original
Board resolution.
On Monday 14th
I exchanged 34 whatsapp messages with Ken Ng from Kitchee as well as a half
hour telephone conversation explaining all of the above. Despite having this
background information and rather than trying to sort things out collectively
and in private, he chose to go ahead with the press conference using me as a
convenient scapegoat. To be honest I am still mystified as to what
‘administrative blunder’ he is referring to. It’s not the HKFA’s decision as to
how many teams will play or which teams will be selected. In any case this
decision has not been made yet. At the point in time when the press conference
was held, the HKFA had applied on behalf of Kitchee and Southern.
Coincidentally I
was due to meet with officials from the AFC in Korea on Saturday 19th. Obviously
I did not want to end up with a situation where Hong Kong only had one team
playing in the AFC CL so I asked if we could resubmit the application. I also
discovered that the method for calculating the Member Association ranking will
change from next season and that only having one team playing in 2017 could
affect the Hong Kong ranking in future years thus putting in jeopardy the
chance of retaining our coveted place in the Group stage. It then became even
more important that the Board changed its mind. At that point I tried to call
Ken Ng to explain the implications for Kitchee. He didn’t take or return my
call. I sent him messages which I know he received. From that point in time he
changed his stance and started to support a new resolution to re-apply on
behalf of Eastern and Kitchee.
I explained all of
this to the Board when I returned to Hong Kong and a new resolution was agreed at
a Board meeting on Monday afternoon to apply on behalf of Eastern and Kitchee.
We will all have to wait and see what the committee decides tomorrow but I am
confident that Hong Kong will have two places in the AFC CL, Eastern in the
group stages and Kitchee in the preliminary knock out.
If this is the
outcome then I am sorry that this will affect Kitchee’s plans for the CNY. I am
happy to work with the club to find amicable solutions. I do not bear a grudge
and remain supportive of the club.
I also understand
that it is disappointing for Southern. I have been criticized for a lack of
communication with Southern. I received an email from the club when I switched
on my phone in Korea to which I immediately replied. I also wrote to the club
after the new Board decision before we issued a press release. I can’t say any
more than that other than I continue to communicate with the club and think
that they now have a very clear picture of what has transpired.
I hope this
detailed explanation helps people to understand how this unfortunate situation
has evolved. I think there are lessons to be learnt on all sides. The important
decisions are yet to be made by the AFC independent competition committee. I
hope that the result of this is that Hong Kong has two teams in the AFC CL and
that they will be placed in the right order to maintain the sporting integrity
of the competition.
The sad thing for me is that we should be celebrating the fact that we
have achieved two teams playing in the Region’s most prestigious club
competition. Instead Hong Kong football has shot itself in the foot and reinforced
negative public perceptions.
Mark Sutcliffe CEO,
November 2016
