Foul!

Azim Zabidi (Twitter: @Azim_Zabidi)  Phones are ringing within the circle as conversations zero in on one question: Why was Datuk Seri Azim Zabidi  nominated for the FA of Malaysia (FAM) president's post? Also, why Azim - already wearing several important hats - is considering the opportunity to sit in FAM, a national body that requires a major overhaul. Utusan Malaysia quoted Azim as saying: “Sebelum ini PBNP (Pahang FA) ada menyua­rakan perkara ini kepada saya dan pada mulanya saya menolak kerana merasakan keadaan tidak sesuai tetapi selepas itu mereka mahu mencalonkan saya, saya kata nak calonkan tidak menjadi masalah dan saya berterima kasih kepada Tengku Muda Pahang, Tengku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ahmad Shah di atas kepercayaan ini. “Bukan Pahang sahaja, ada beberapa negeri lain turut menyatakan sokongan tetapi saya perlu berjumpa dengan ahli gabungan lain bagi melihat sokongan mereka, sekiranya tidak begitu kuat, saya fikir lebih baik tidak perlu (bertan­ding). ...

As published in Malay Mail today  HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol THEY spoke at great lengths with one goal in mind — to resuscitate Malaysian football. Somewhat poetically, the “boys” of St John’s Institution, class of 1975 to be exact, had gathered in an office at Wisma Paradise in Jalan Ampang that had a nice view of their alma mater. It was there, during their younger days, that they played football in the rain while idolising the likes of the late Datuk Mokhtar Dahari, Datuk Santokh Singh and Datuk Soh Chin Aun. About two weeks ago, they met to discuss the current state of Malaysian football. This was fresh after Malaysia suffered a humiliating 10-0 beating to United Arab Emirates on Sept 4 — our worst result at an international match to date. But it was not just another session of coffee shop talk. They had a plan. “We plan to take over a club or state team and run it. Don’t worry, we will be able to find the resources and teach the others a thing or two about prof...

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...

I received several phone calls yesterday regarding the backpage report ' Match or player agent? ' that appeared in The Malay Mail. One woke me up by raising his voice and telling me never to contact him again. Several others called me to justify the roles played by the FA of Malaysia (FAM), BSC Soccer Sdn Bhd and event management company Fat Boys. None, however, answered my question - who was the link between Barcelona and Kuala Lumpur? Here are the questions which I hope will be answered either through the documents which the Sports Commissioner Office will receive today or at the FAM Congress at the Royal Chulan Hotel. 1. Who brought FC Barcelona to KL since FAM were unaware of their trip to KL in the beginning?     Note: Sinar Harian report (March 6, 2013)     Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia (FAM) kurang berpuas hati dengan tindakan wakil Barcelona FC yang menghebahkan kedatangan kelab bola sepak Sepanyol itu tanpa merujuk kepada mereka terl...

Berita Harian called it Sandiwara BAM . The Star and NST spoke on the players instead. SS Dhaliwal made some revelations on his blog as seen here . Question - isn't it evident that nothing can be kept in the dark anymore and organisations need to be as transparent as possible? People tend to talk, more so when you ask them to keep it private and confidential. Meanwhile, an NST report on football had this to say; The FA of Malaysia (FAM) will review its earlier decision to expand the 16-team Malaysia Cup competition to 24 next year Many fear the Malaysia Cup would lose its prestige by allowing lower ranked Premier League teams into the event. Question - didn't the Malaysia Cup lose its prestige a long time ago no thanks to the lacking in standards and professionalism among participating teams? Heck, have we ever turned Pro? Then again, aren't transparency and professionalism alien in our sporting scene? HD says: Am I missing anything? Nah...sam...

UPDATE May 26 (9.25am): Singapore's The New Paper talks about 'Paul', 'John' and four nabbed for attempt to fix LionsXII match. Not two but three Malaysians are apparently involved. Read the article here . ------- When former Fifa head of security Chris Eaton was in Kuala Lumpur last year, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) got him to say no official was involved in the Malaysia-Zimbabwe friendly matches fiasco. Then when Eaton was reported to have said Malaysian officials were involved by the Singaporean Media, again FAM tried to play it down. To show that they are committed in their crime against match-fixing, FAM set up a Coordination and Investigation Unit headed by former police officer Osman Bakar. So what support Osman has been receiving to play his role effectively? He is no longer a cop and is in no position to investigate such matters. How many players or officials have been arrested or charged since the setting up of the unit? The NST had today repo...

UNTUK SIARAN SEGERA KUALA LUMPUR KENYATAAN AKHBAR OLEH DULI YANG TERAMAT MULIA MULIA TENGKU ABDULLAH SULTAN AHMAD SHAH TIMBALAN PRESIDEN PERSATUAN BOLA SEPAK MALAYSIA ( FAM) Berikutan daripada beberapa peristiwa yang telah berlaku baru-baru ini, khususnya berkaitan dengan keputusan Jawatankuasa Disiplin FAM terhadap Tan Sri Annuar Musa, saya ingin menyatakan kekesalan saya keatas apa yang telah berlaku. Memandangkan saya berada di luar negara semasa peristiwa ini berlaku, saya tidak mempunyai pengetahuan terperinci mengenai kejadian tersebut atau mengenai pendengaran yang diadakan pada 4 April 2012. Sebagai penjelasan, kenyataan yang dibuat oleh saya pada 4hb Februari 2012 tidak sepatutnya diinterpretasikan sebagai satu arahan tetapi hanya semata-mata sebagai satu nasihat kepada semua pegawai-pegawai di FAM untuk menghormati Perlembagaan FAM dan untuk memastikan supaya kami mematuhi semua peraturan-peraturan yang jelas dinyatakan didalamnya. Walaubagaimanapun, saya pasti bahawa Jawatan...

Pos Malaysia Berhad issued a statement ( pic ) with regards to the Mailsport's backpage story that three senior teams - Premier League clubs MP Muar FC, NS Betaria and Pos Malaysia - are being probed by the authorities as published today. The statement will appear in tomorrow's Mailsport . The FA of Malaysia (FAM) also issued a statement regarding Singapore's Straits Times article which read; "Another surprise revelation by Fifa's security chief Chris Eaton to The Straits Times was that it is not just players and coaches who are on the take in Malaysia. According to the Australian, FAM officials could also be implicated. Mr Eaton said: 'I can safely say there is an investigation linking football administration officials in Malaysia and globally to match-fixing in South-east Asia." Below is FAM's statement to the Press; PERSATUAN BOLASEPAK MALAYSIA SIARAN MEDIA 16 FEBRUARI 2012 LAPORAN DI AKHBAR STRAITS TIME, SINGAPURA Persatuan Bolase...

FA of Malaysia (FAM) revealed three "senior" teams are being investigated for suspicion of match-fixing in the domestic league. This comes to no surprise as many believe more dirt will be unearth leading to another 1994 fiasco which saw more than 100 officials and players banned from playing due to football bribery. FAM also stepped up by working closely with the Immigration Department to monitor suspects from leaving the country and deny entry to foreigners believed to be part of the syndicate. Read here and here for more. HD says: Better late than never.

In 2010, I wrote about President's Cup players, including from T-Team, being on the take ( pic ). Today, 11 players and five officials from that T-Team squad are being investigated by the FA of Malaysia's (FAM) disciplinary board. The others are from the MP Muar (4 officials, 3 players) and Penang SDM Navy (4 officials, 4 players) 2011 President’s Cup teams. All 31 are temporarily suspended from football activities until the DB meets and discusses about any possible action. As said on Awani Ekstra last night, I am baffled to why the responsible party is only taking action now despite T-Team having lodged a report coupled with my stories on the match-fixing fiasco surfaced two years ago. But I added, "better late than never". Read The match-fixing scandal widens on FAM's current investigation and When and how it all happened for a recap of my story in 2010. HD says: I believe more will be named and shamed.