Foul!

Here are two views about the subject. One is by veteran sports journalist Tony Mariadass while the other is by Malay Mail sports editor Graig Nunis. What are your views? Search in our own backyard By Tony Mariadass (March 23, 2015) IT is unimaginable national football coach Dollah Salleh — having come from an era of talented home grown players — is keen on naturalised players.  During Dollah’s time, he had Johor teammates such as goalkeepers Salleh Noor and Hassan Miskam and midfielders Khalid Shahdan, Nasir Yusof and Sazali Naseer alongside him in the national team. He also had for company players like Zainal Abidin Hassan, Salim Mahmud, Serbegeth Singh, K. Gunalan, See Kim Seng, Chow Siew Yai, Lee Kin Hong, S. Silvarajoo, K. Ravichandran, Ahmad Yusof, Azizol Abu Haniffah, S. Balachandran, A. Anbalagan, P. Somasundram and P. Ravindran to name a few.  For him to say the current players do not have the right mentality, are not matured, lack phys...

Comment by Tony Mariadass tmariadass@gmail.com HAS Lee Chong Wei courted more trouble pending his hearing by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) doping panel in December by sparring with national players at Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara on Monday? Chong Wei is under provisional suspension after his A and B samples were positive for banned substance dexamethasone – a drug used to aid an athlete’s rehabilitation, which is permitted outside competition because it is not performance-enhancing. He tested positive at the World Championships in Copenhagen in August. Although it is only a provisional suspension, BA of Malaysia (BAM) should have known better than create any ripples which may see BWF looking at the situation as a direct defiance of the ban. Chong Wei’s intentions may be noble – to help his teammates prepare for the Axiata Cup (Nov 26–Dec 7) and Macau Open (Nov 25-30) – but he does not need this unnecessary attention. For all we know, Chong Wei’s unblemished ...

Below are several paragraphs taken from Mailsport editor Tony Mariadass' column Level Field published in the paper today: Another seven (KLFA) players are expected to be hauled up today and could well face similar action. (bans or suspensions)  What’s puzzling is that KLFA let the sponsor have a say in the hiring of the coach and players and even in managing the team when it is clearly stated by FAM that the team must be managed by the association. So, KLFA knew something was amiss, but did nothing about it, including curtailing the powers of the sponsor. To call KLFA poor would be a misstatement. KLFA manages the stadium and only pays booking fees to City Hall. Maintenance of the stadium is shouldered by City Hall. KLFA also get financial aid from City Hall. It is also learnt that the developer had given KLFA a condominium, but whether there are any returns from the property is unclear. Then, there is revenue from billboards also acquired during Elyas’ tenure, and surely ...

lag·gard ˈlagərd / noun plural noun: laggards   1 . a person who makes slow progress and falls behind others. That was the word published on the backpage of The Malay Mail today. It is regarding chef de mission Tun Ahmad Sarji's findings at the 2012 Olympics in Beijing. Meanwhile, The Malay Mail sports editor Tony Mariadass had this to say: The National Sports Council (NSC), who are grooming athletes through their Pelapis (back-up) programme, have requested Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) to include nine of their interns under category B. But this is a peculiar situation because MAF, as the governing body of athletics, should overseeing development as they know the performance of the athletes well.   NSC should engage MAF fully in their programme or have the body run the programme for them because, after all, they are the experts.   In fact, several sports associations have given up development because NSC have taken over the role. This ...

Ever since the late Tan Sri Hamzah Abu samah vacated FAM, many Malaysians became critical towards FAM and the sport. One should not simply use the word, typical Malaysian, before knowing the fact. - are Malaysians not fare in their comments and criticism?? what warrants you to brand them typical??? People who are always in denial and come from the setup, will say things and insults fellow Malaysians intelligent opinion(lets not be a savour grape) For your knowledge, my opinion is a well thought opinion. I'm a qualified football coach...and i've got the "ammunition" for it, do you have it too?? Sometimes we're blinded due to emotions. We tend to say things we ourselves don't understand.-like calling Malaysian typical and, panting a bad picture about them. HSKL says:The truth is always difficult to "swallow"  Those were the words of reader HSKAMAL. Malaysia is set to meet Myanmar in the Merdeka tournament final. There have been...

Haresh Says as published in The Malay Mail today We sat at a regular mamak restaurant in Bukit Jalil, drinking teh-o as a camera crew of three stood in front of us. It was a typical setting of football show Bola@Mamak which, sadly, is no longer aired over Astro Supersport. There was an episode where I sat next to former KL player Stanley Bernard Stephen Samuel and another guest jokingly referred to him as a 'professional injured footballer'. Stanley featured for India’s Sporting Clube de Goa and MyTeam. He is still itching to get back on the field but a long knee injury has seen him taking up a new role — as a pundit and a match commentator. Stanley is not alone. Newly appointed T-Team assistant coach Azlan Johar, who once coached KL Malay Mail thanks to an offer made by then team manager Tony Mariadass, made his name as a pundit and commentator for Astro Arena over the years. During the recent Malaysia-FC Barcelona match, Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak provi...

According to former Mailsport editor Tony Mariadass "Malaysian sports have been embroiled in more controversies than feel good stories of late." He cites the never-ending football bribery disease, the failure of the hockey lads to qualify for the Olympic and the doping issue surrounding the athletics scene - among others. But come the London Olympics, rest assured that there will be more officials present than athletes. Do not be surprised if even a journalist who hardly covers sport nor his organisation hardly covers local sports, could well be present with an official media accreditation in London. I wonder who eh..... Read Tony's full posting here . HD says: Hmm....

That's the reaction I get from most of the footballers, I kid you not. Two years since the launch of the Professional Footballers' Association of Malaysia (PFAM) and no one knows what its' real functions are. I bet former Mailsport editor Tony Mariadass, who wrote a skeptical piece on PFAM back then, is having the last laugh. But it's no laughing matter for the players. They do not have a single entity representing them, safeguarding their interest. All this and more in today's From the Sidelines . HD says: Sigh.