KUCHING: Kuching City FC has broken its silence over the controversial registration of left back defender Scott Woods, attributing the incident to a clerical error compounded by lapses in matchday verification procedures.
The club in a statement issued last night (Mar 18), acknowledged the confusion surrounding Woods’ status during their Malaysia Super League fixture against Penang FC last weekend, which had sparked debate across social media.
Chief executive officer Iswandi Ali Hassan provided a detailed account of the sequence of events, explaining that the team had travelled to Penang with a 20-man squad that included Woods. However, midfielder Danial Amier remained in Kuching as he was still recovering from injury.
According to the club, the initial player list submitted for the match correctly excluded Danial and included Woods. However, a technical error occurred during the official registration process, resulting in Woods’ name being omitted and replaced by Danial’s.
The situation was further compounded by a breakdown in standard pre-match procedures.
Under normal circumstances, match officials are required to conduct final verification of registered players in the dressing room prior to kick-off.
The club claimed that this process was not carried out for the match in question.
Despite the discrepancy, Woods was present on the bench throughout the game and was introduced in the 90th minute in the second half.
The club noted that no objections or alerts were raised by match officials regarding his registration status at the time, allowing the substitution to proceed as normal.
Iswandi stressed that the club remains committed to transparency and professionalism, adding that Kuching City will extend full cooperation to the league organisers in resolving the matter through the appropriate channels.
“Throughout our 10 years journey in Malaysian football, we have faced various challenges involving organisers, officials and opponents.
“Our principle remains to compete within the framework of the rules, face reality with accountability, and continue improving where necessary,” he said.
He added that the incident would serve as a learning point for the club as it continues to strengthen its internal processes moving forward.
Kuching City also reiterated its commitment to work closely with the Malaysian Football League to ensure that the issue is handled in a fair and professional manner.
