Siem Reap Derby: Is it happening?
This weekend, Siem Reap FC are due to lock horns with Angkor City in the Temple Town derby. The game, scheduled for the 18th at Svay Thom Stadium, is the third meeting between the sides this season in Cambodia’s second division. However, both clubs and fans across the country are unsure whether the game will even go ahead as we wait for the FFC disciplinary committee to give us a verdict on whether Angkor City are allowed to continue playing.
What happened to Angkor City?
In early December club owner Pomroy publicly documented that the club were still fighting a battle financially and the upcoming fixture was going to be hard to fulfill. After playing 10 games in 8 weeks the club finally forfeited their game with Life FC stating they were unable to travel to Sihanoukville due to both financial and personnel issues. Earlier in the month Angkor City traveled to the Ministry of Interior with just 11 players, none of whom were a goalkeeper and 1 staff member which was club owner Pomroy.
In the week building to the game they had to forfeit they had played at home with Vishaka, then away with CPL club ISI in Phnom Penh 3 days later and then were expected to travel to Sihanoukville 2 days later. This was too much for the club and its players.
The Hearing & FFC Disciplinary Committee…
CPL laws state that teams unable to fulfill fixtures are subject to a hearing with the FFC disciplinary committee with fines up to $2500 and a 2 year ban from competition.
On January 23rd Pomroy was called to CPL headquarters to present their case and explain the current situation of the club. This was a meeting that, according to Pomroy, went exactly the way he expected to with its unpredictability and nonsensical procedure;
“We were asked to bring every member of the club a day after receiving the letter. If I couldn’t afford to take 16 people to Shianoukvilke then how was I going to bring 40+ to Phnom Penh on less than 24 hours notice? The interrogation was not really about why we didn’t attend, it was more them checking our viability as a club and in all honesty felt like it was finding reasons to bury us target than help us. However what I will say is our COO Aethlestan Riches also joined and his view was far less defensive than mine”.
What’s taking so long?
This is anyone’s guess at the moment. Most cases that are submitted are decided and cleared within 2 or 3 days but we’re approaching 3 weeks now and still no indication on what will happen. Angkor City game with Bati was postponed, not forfeited, which would give the impression there is still life in Angkor City yet but it remains to be seen.
The game this weekend is still going ahead as it stands but with both clubs watching the pennies neither are too enthusiastic about using resources for a game that will, most likely, not happen.
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Author: Leon Havana
A trained chef and sports aficionado with extensive experience across South America and Asia. Leon’s culinary creations celebrate local flavors, while his love for sports like football and boxing connects him with local communities.
