Maldivian League Scandal: Withdrawal Saves Green Streets and Relegates Valencia
Football stadiums witnessed one of the strangest incidents in the history of the modern game, as "loss by withdrawal" became a lifeline for one of the clubs to remain in the top league, in an incident that shook the foundations of the Maldivian Premier League and sparked widespread controversy about legal loopholes and sporting integrity.
Details of the controversial incident
In the decisive final round of the Maldivian league season, Green Streets found themselves in a precarious position, battling to avoid relegation from the top division, level on points with their closest rivals, Valencia. The calculations were incredibly complex; Green Streets' survival depended on maintaining a superior goal difference over Valencia.
Valencia did their job perfectly, winning their last match 2-0, which put immense pressure on Green Streets, who now faced the formidable New Radiant, one of the league's strongest teams. A disastrous scenario for Green Streets would have been a loss by four goals or more, a very real possibility given the strength of their opponents.
The "diarrhea" trick and escaping a crushing defeat
In a surprising turn of events, Green Streets FC announced their inability to play their crucial match against New Radiant, citing a severe outbreak of diarrhea among their players. According to the Maldivian Football Association regulations, the team was deemed to have forfeited the match and forfeited 2-0.
The strange paradox is that this perceived loss was a “victory” for Green Streets; it ensured that they did not concede a large number of goals, and thus maintained their goal difference advantage over Valencia, which officially kept them in the Premier League and sent Valencia to the second division despite their victory on the field.
Reactions and escalation of the issue internationally
The incident did not go unnoticed, with Valencia's management considering it a blatant manipulation of results and an unethical exploitation of the regulations. To make matters worse, Green Streets appeared just days later with a nearly full squad for a President's Cup match, further fueling suspicions about the validity of the medical excuse provided for the league game.
Although the local federation imposed a financial penalty on Green Streets and banned them from summer signings, it approved the result and the final standings, prompting Valencia to announce that it would escalate the issue to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the International Federation (FIFA), demanding justice and the application of fair play principles, in a case that may prompt sports federations to reconsider withdrawal regulations and their impact on the fairness of competition.
