Foul!

As published in Mailsport today By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — Former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) generalsecretary Datuk Alex Soosay is back with the regional body as a consultant — barely a year after he was suspended and later quit following the controversial “tamper or hide” video expose by Malay Mail 11 months ago. It is understood Alex was handed a two-year contract and attended his first meeting as a consultant at AFC House in Bukit Jalil last Thursday.  AFC, in confirming Alex’s appointment, had in a statement said: “Asian football is benefiting tremendously from Datuk Alex Soosay’s unrivalled expertise and experience of the world game in his role as a consultant to the AFC. “He has the ability to contribute significantly on specific projects in which he has detailed knowledge such as the extension of the new building and the AFC Asian Cup. “Datuk Alex has the full support of the AFC president, general-secretary and management in this rol...

Bookies had attempted to fix a world cup qualifying match in Kuala Lumpur, sources have revealed, as the FA of Malaysia (FAM) will continue to keep a close eye on the matter. Insiders revealed a foreigner "had hooked up" with a local match fixer to manipulate the Malaysia-Palestine match in favour of the host team at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 16. Malaysia, however, were hammered 6-0 by the middle east outfit. "Our information has revealed there were at least two people involved. They had tried to manipulate the match but we believed they failed to do and there were no irregular betting patterns for the match," an insider said. An Asian Footabll Confederation (AFC) source confirmed the regional body was well aware of the allegation but said the case had since been classified as NFA (no further action). FAM integrity department head Osman Bakar said he was notified about the matter by AFC and had cautioned the coaches and players prior th...

Going Nuts by Graig Nunis, as published in Mailsport today. SOME Malaysians are going ga-ga over Astro’s new Hits channel which replays popular shows from the 1980s with many enjoying the campy, crappy, over-the-top and just plain silly The A-Team. The show is about a group of former American Special Forces who help the downtrodden and the oppressed (while eluding the long arm — or in this case, short arm of the law). Throughout the show’s four seasons, the heroes fired thousands of rounds of bullets without killing anyone — a little like Liverpool’s strikers who as the old joke goes, wouldn’t be able to score in a brothel! Campy, crappy, over-the-top and just plain silly could also best describe FA of Malaysia (FAM). Just when you thought things could not get any worse after the Malaysia Cup fiasco when the biggest local football match had to share the vicinity of the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil with a Buddhist prayer event and a Sarawak carnival — making life...

As published in Malay Mail today By Vijhay Vick vijhayvick@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — FA of Malaysia (FAM) general secretary Datuk Hamidin Amin conceded there was a miscommunication between the national body and the Malaysian Stadium Corporation (MSC), the guardians of the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. The Malaysia Cup final between Pahang and Johor Darul Takzim, the Lan Berambeh Anak Sarawak 2014 Carnival and a Buddhist prayers event all take place in and around the National Stadium tomorrow. Mayhem is expected as more than 150,000 people are likely to converge  on the vicinity of the 100,000 capacity stadium. Further, carparks A and B are closed for the Sarawakian event while the prayers take place at the Putra Stadium. “It was a miscommunication. For them (MSC) the stadium is in good condition and able to host the final. Only later, we realised about the other two events,” said Hamidin. However, Hamidin insisted the National Stadium ...

As published in Malay Mail today. By Vijhay Vick vijhayvick@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — The FA of Malaysia (FAM) had insisted on the Malaysia Cup final to be held at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday, revealed Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. Khairy said there was not much the Malaysian Stadium Corporation (MSC), which comes under the purview of his ministry, could do as they had already committed to two other events — a Sarawakian carnival and a religious prayer — scheduled on the same day. Johor Darul Takzim will play Pahang in the final which was earlier scheduled for Nov 8 but brought forward to this Saturday to give the national team time to prepare for the Asean Football  Federation Cup which starts on Nov 22. “It was unfortunate FAM changed the date of the final. MSC had already committed to the other two events and both the event organisers have paid in full for the use of the facilities,” said Khairy. “FAM in...

As published in Mailsport today. By Vijhay Vick vijhayvick@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — Benjamin Franklin once said: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” And the FA of Malaysia (FAM) is certainly preparing to fail by holding the biggest football game in the country at a venue where two other major events are taking place. The Malaysia Cup final, a Sarawakian festival and a religious prayer event all take place in and around the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday. Why did the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (MSC) give the nod to all three events on the same day and are the authorities capable of handling such a turnout? Why didn’t FAM consult MSC before deciding to bring forward the date of the Malaysia Cup final from Nov 8? If FAM had planned its calendar properly, there may not have been a clash with the other events.  FAM did not even consider the Shah Alam Stadium — last year’s final venue — as an alternative at yesterday’s M...

And the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil will be closed - yet again! What about the contractors who were tasked to do the upgrading works? Do they get away despite the shoddy work? Wasn't the stadium just reopened in April? Wasn't the field worked on late last year, resulting in the Malaysia Cup final (Oct 20) between Armed Forces and Kelantan to be played at the Shah Alam Stadium instead? That was the front page of The Malay Mail's first edition (second edition was on the construction mishap at the Penang second link bridge). Read more on page three of today's paper. HD says: Pandai bikin, pandai jawab.

But you won't see the last of Azlan Iskandar ( pic ). The squash player announced his retirement from the professional circuit - something he has been toying about for sometime due to other personal commitments. Thus it comes to no surprise he was rather "fine" when asked how he felt right after the press conference held at the National Squash Center in Bukit Jalil. He was, however, overwhelmed with the response after making the announcement. "Of course I was taken aback by the twitter response," exclaimed Azlan. "But made the decision a while back. Thank you all for the overwhelming support." Azlan will surely be part of the sport through the Azlan Iskandar Squash Academy . And he will surely steal the headlines in the near future - not through his exploits on the squash courts for sure. For his full 'retirement' statement, read here . HD says : Thank you and all the best.

A former graphic designer has filed a suit for RM776,000 against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), claiming that its negligence caused him to lose his right eye and his income. Ahmad Jazimin Mohd Jalaludin ( pic) was at the football match between Malaysia and Singapore football at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, organised by FAM on July 28 last year. He said that at about 8.45pm, a firecracker from the spectator seats had fallen and exploded by his right eye, causing him to suffer serious injury. Read more in The Star today . Read my previous articles on the incident as seen on Yahoo! Malaysia , lowyat.net and a posting on this blog FAM risks sanctions? HD says : Here's hoping no more fans will be injured while watching football. Let's respect each other at the stands.

What is a sports school? A. To churn out student athletes, OR B. To churn out students who are active in sports Education is VERY important. Period. But let's look at the situation faced by two Bukit Jalil Sports School footballers Raphi Azizan Mariappen and Muhd Ariff Farhan Md Isa. There are efforts to get both footballers to stay in Wisma FAM - in a bid for them to further gel with their team mates. Apparently the school is not too keen with the idea and insists they stay at the hostel in Bukit Jalil. It was also learnt the school was not "cool" with the fact Nazmi Faiz Mansor skipped his SPM for national duties. One does not blame the school as they are regulated by the Education Ministry and are forced to adhere to the regulations set by the Ministry which is similar to that of any other SMK. This includes obtaining a "healthy" number of passing rates and good attendance. So where do we draw the line? This has been a subject of discussi...

That was the first sentence of my column From the Sidelines published today . But I was told to "go easy" as Redberry, the group that manages The Malay Mail, are the media partners of the Sports Industry Year. Oh well. I was just pushing the envelope anyway. I have been skeptical all this while - as standing individuals were sidelined from speaking at the forums as they are noy in-sync with the concept of the Sports Industry Year (note I mentioned SIY twice - now isn't that branding?) But with plans of turning the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex into a Sports City? Now that's something worth looking into. After all, Malaysians only appreciate things better when they are forced to fork out money. HD says : Let's concentrate on maintaining facilities as well.

I strongly believe we are capable of maintaining the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex better. The poor economy in Spain does not stop the local government from maintaining the Estadi Olimpic which was built in 1929. Even online portal MSN Malaysia is running a poll - Is our National Stadium good enough? Nevertheless, credit to Merdeka Stadium Board and its corporate communications assistant manager Noriza Mohd Ali. They were pro-active when alerted the issue. Unlike many who would threaten or shy away, MSB admitted their shortcomings and promised to rectify it. Kudos! Read it all here . HD says: I'm impressed with the way MSB handled the situation. Very impressed.