COMMENT: To hell with FAM

As published in Mailsport today

Comment by Frankie D’Cruz 
frankie@mmail.com.my

FIRST it was Nepal, now Macau — minnows who have held Malaysia to draws and probably condemned us to isolation in world football.

FA of Malaysia (FAM) haven’t you just given lowly teams a great chance to improve their Fifa rankings at our expense?

The miserable results against Nepal and Macau have earned Malaysia some waspish headlines but carrying on your merry way is ultimately what matters doesn’t it?

Plainly, the cavalier approach and the naively kneejerk proposals by the FAM to give our football a facelift is a show of contempt to the nation.

This is Malaysian football today, one that reminds me of the scene in Pulp Fiction where the bloke comes out of the kitchen, fires off dozens of rounds at John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson and reacts in horror as every single bullet misses the target. 

FAM might appear invulnerable, but they are incorrigible and disrespectful. Especially to the media and fans.

Why is it so difficult for FAM to accept Malaysian football is incredibly distressing?

And if you wonder why they persist in forcing this diet of drivel upon us rather than trying something novel, the answer is clear — credibility is anathema to them.

With Malaysian football in great peril, FAM have never had anything constructive to say about how to put the wanton destruction on the road to recovery.

Instead, there are only chest-beating interviews and speeches in which they denounce media criticism and boast about how they are punching above their weight.

Perhaps, they should explain the joke of Nepal holding our Under-22 squad to a draw and Macau, 29 places below us in Fifa ranking, causing more embarrassment to the national team.

 Why did we have to play Nepal when half of them were suspended for match-fixing with Malaysian bookies?

Isn’t it insufferably smug when you think you can whip Macau whose coach is a sports editor and a defender a sportswriter?

The extent of this wrongdoing won’t abate until the offenders are held accountable. Sorry, they are untouchables, aren’t they?

Do we just say: “Serves them right”,  “The FAM opened this can of worms”, “Let them live with the consequences”. 

No. Football belongs to the people. Return it to us.