Kelantan Football Association (KAFA) honorary adviser Datuk Seri Dr Hasmiza Othman has been warned to follow the rules whenever she sits in the technical area when watching Kelantan football team matches.

Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) CEO, Kevin Ramalingam said there are certain rules that must be followed when occupying the bench, including wearing a different attire than the players on the field.

"She has to follow the technical area rules such as avoid using mobile phone, and her attire must not be the same as the players in the field. That is why players sitting in the technical area wear bibs to cover the same colour as the teammates already playing.

"Besides that, she cannot leave the technical area to address the fans and things like that. These are normal football rules to be followed," he told Bernama.

She was also seen taking 'wefies' with players at the technical area.

Kevin reiterated that Hasmiza, who is better known as Datuk Vida, may lose her eligibility to enter the technical area if she continues to breach the rules.

"If these rules are not followed, then we have no choice but to ensure people don't break the rules. We would like to have entertainment aspects but not to this level, where it jeorpadises the rules," he added.

Kevin said Datuk Vida was allowed to enter the technical area with the proper registration from Kelantan as a team official and FMLLP as a private entity which manages the M-League from the beginning this season.

When asked about reports on the tight schedule for the M-League this season, Kevin said it was due to the late kick-off of the season.

"Usually the season will begin in January but this year we had to start in February because the last season finished very late due to haze and a few other problems. So we completely understand that it's not the ideal situation. We didn't want it be this way but it was forced to be this way due to the one-month delay.

"Then in June this year we have to give a break for the international matches for the 2019 Asia Cup qualifying play-offs," he said.

Despite the late kick-off, Kevin said the league is scheduled to finish at the end of October, like the previous seasons to have pre-seasons in November and December to make way for the AFF Suzuki Cup.