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...

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — It was a revelation that shocked the football world.   Malay Mail had on April 25 exposed a damning video that saw then Asian Football Confederation (AFC) financial director Bryan Kuan Wee Hoong claiming former AFC general-secretary Datuk Alex Soosay telling him "protect me" before asking "can you tamper or hide documents which relate to me?"   An internal probe was initiated by AFC, only for the regional body to close investigations five months later citing "inability to obtain any additional evidence". Soosay was suspended in May and quit a month later.     Former AFC general-secretary Datuk Peter Velappan expressed regret over the inaction by AFC, adding "nobody has the will to make changes".   "After spending 50 years in football, it pains me to see the bribery scandal in Fifa. Africa is gone ... so are parts of Europe and now, that disease ha...

As published in Sunday Mail today By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR —  Kedahan Datuk Windsor Paul John was named Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary on Friday, an appointment he wished his dad could have seen. John, who was the deputy general secretary, was made acting general secretary after Datuk Alex Soosay was suspended in May following an internal investigation over a controversial “tamper or hide” video exposed by Malay Mail on April 25. Soosay quit on June 17. Mailsport had on June 18 quoted insiders as saying John was “most likely” to occupy the hot seat.  He joined a host of Malaysians who served as general secretary, including  Datuk Peter Velappan (1978-2007) and another Kedahan, Datuk Paul Mony Samuel (2007-2009). “It’s a great honour for the (AFC) executive committee to recognise my capabilities and have faith in me. There are many new things, especially reforms introduced, for us to mo...

As published in Malay Mail today Comment by Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my AND just like that, a case is closed. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) may call itself the guardian of football in this region but it lacks the will to clean up its house in Bukit Jalil.  This was despite promises of reforms which includes transparency, accountability and good governance by president Sheikh Salman Ebrahim Al Khalifa when he took office in 2013. AFC, run by officials in suits, is good in producing brief statements. But that too has somewhat regressed as they would only speak when asked repeatedly to do so.  It has been almost six months since Malay Mail exposed the ''tamper or hide'' video involving two key AFC personnel. The revelation was published on April 25. It highlighted a video showing AFC financial director Bryan Kuan Wee Hong claiming that former AFC general-secretary Datuk Alex Soosay telling him, “protect me”, before asking, “can...

As published in Malay Mail today Haresh Says By Haresh Deol THE inability to juggle transparency, accountability and professionalism is evident. Governing bodies of football are struggling to score in this department. And they seem to cloud the stakeholders —  fans and media — with technical jargon and hide behind their uptight attitude. The neatly knotted ties and tailor-made jackets may project an organised look but football administrators seem clueless in tackling the issues surrounding the world’s most popular sport. Fifa is battling a host of woes on its turf. The decision to play on artificial turf continues to draw controversy at the ongoing Women’s World Cup in Canada.  “I have plenty of blisters on my toes,” United States forward Alex Morgan was quoted as saying last week, summing up the continuous fight by female footballers who dropped a legal suit they initiated last October against the world body and Canadian Soccer Assoc...

As published in today's Malay Mail By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) suspended its general secretary Datuk Alex Soosay yesterday, weeks after Malay Mail revealed an explosive video implicating the former footballer of wanting to “tamper or hide” documents during the height of the 2012 PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) audit. The decision came as a shock to AFC staff while former general secretary Datuk Peter Velappan stressed the organisation was answerable to all stakeholders and must continue to uphold integrity.  In a short statement on its website yesterday, AFC said: “Datuk Alex Soosay was suspended by the AFC following media allegations which have recently surfaced concerning a case in 2012.  “A video statement conducted as part of a Fifa investigation was passed to media recently and the AFC has now been able to verify its authenticity.” AFC deputy general secretary Datuk Windsor...

A top Asian football official said he had been deliberately smeared on Friday after he was accused of ordering documents to be hidden during an audit triggered by corruption claims. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary Alex Soosay blamed "election fever" after video surfaced of an employee of the Kuala Lumpur-based body making the claim against him. According to the Malay Mail, the AFC`s financial director said Soosay asked him to "tamper (with) or hide" documents during a 2012 audit. The audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers was ordered in the wake of claims of financial wrongdoing by former AFC chief Mohamed bin Hammam, who is now banned from football. But Soosay, speaking to AFP after this week`s AFC congress in Bahrain, said: "The case is closed. It was thoroughly done and dealt with and bin Hammam was suspended. "It`s completely, I don`t know, all of a sudden taken out of context. It`s election fever. But the...

As published in Malay Mail today HARESH SAYS by Haresh Deol A SENIOR official claims a senior colleague suggested to “hide or tamper” documents. On any other day, such accusations will warrant a full investigation. But in the case of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), it was a revelation that was video recorded and presumably kept aside.  Malay Mail had last Saturday revealed AFC financial director Bryan Kuan Wee Hoong, in a video recording on July 26, 2012, claimed AFC general secretary Datuk Alex Soosay said “protect me” before suggesting “can you tamper or hide documents that relate to me”. Kuan had, in the video, said the conversation between him and Soosay took place at the AFC House in Bukit Jalil on July 23, 2012, three days before former Fifa investigator Michael John Pride recorded the statement. This was during the 2012 audit by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Kuan refused to talk when contacted last week. Soosay vehemently denied...