Foul!

It has been a roller-coaster year for the author. From being named Sports Journalist of the Year , venturing into a new job to receiving several letter of demands (one of them will now be tried next year), 2012 has been an 'interesting' journey. Here are some of the highlights of 2012 as seen on Foul! January Jan 4: Two athletes who competed at the Indonesia Sea Games were tested positive for banned substance. Jan 11: Negri Sembilan physiotherapist See Kim Leong passed away on Feb 5, 2011. Kim Leong's wife Audrey McLeod has not received a single cent as she was told her husband was " not insured ". Jan 14: BAM forms a three-man committee instead of hiring a high performance director. Told you so! Jan 19: The M-League 2012 was hardly a month old and yet it was rocked with match-fixing. Kes rasuah lagi. Jan 24: Contractors at the mercy of workers Jan 26: Johor prince takes over football Jan 28: Doctors against 1Care February Feb 1: Elyas ...

“Even though I have lost, I am satisfied with my experience serving as the president of MWF. I am also very satisfied with the peaceful outcome with no fights. I thank the police and the law advisers who helped us today.” Those were the words of ousted Malaysian Weightlifting Federation president Zafarul Akbar Kassim as reported here . No fights? Thank the police and law advisers? I never knew the election process of national bodies in this country are that 'violent'. Read a previous report on the association's AGM here . That aside, all the best to the new committee headed by Ong Poh Eng ( pic from Sports247.my ). Here's hoping for a "peaceful" year ahead. HD says: Make love, not war.

India, which has more than 1.3 billion people, recorded 24,000 cases of rape last year, a figure that has increased by 25 percent in the past six years.  Read the full article here . India was rocked with protests and rallies after a young girl was gang raped, beaten and thrown out of a moving bus two weeks ago. And after several major operations and even being transferred to a hospital in Singapore, the victim passed away this morning. According to IBN Live, 'The six men accused of raping and assaulting the 23-year-old paramedical student, who died after battling for her life for over 12 days in a Singapore hospital, will now be charged with murder.' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - whose government has come under fire in handling the situation and ensuring safety of women folk in the nation - offered his condolences . So what has India learnt from this episode? That the presumed democracy and freedom of expression it believes to have was somewhat thwarted a...

National cycling coach John Beasley is currently with the cycling team at the on-going Tasmanian Carnival. Here are his reports of the riders' performances; Day 1 (Dec 28) Just a quick up date on yesterdays racing. Latrobe is a big out door flat 500m track on the north east coast of Tasmania. Weather conditions were windy and about 23 degrees.  We had a good first day in Latrobe Tasmania yesterday with Josiah wining the 200om handicap, Jupha finished 3rd in the womens handicap and raced very well. Jupha won the B grade scratch race, Hamimha finished second in the same race. Edrus finished 2nd in the final of the sprint derby in a 6 up final to Simon van Velthooven of NZ. Hamdan finished 7th in the A grade scratch race full of international six day bike riders and lots of currant and past world champions in the race, I was very happy with his ride. The junior group did quite well for there first day on the track after there long journey, they made a lot of finals though could no...

National goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat and model Leuniey tied the knot in Pasir Pekan, Tumpat yesterday. Congratulations to the duo. The picture was taken from Oh Bulan . But let's look at the subject of weddings and the mentality of cashing in on weddings. Apparently the rights to 'cover' the Khairul Fahmi's wedding was given to one particular organisation that even the official Kelantan FA media arm was not allowed to take snap shots. Betul ka? Such was also seen during Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo's wedding dinner. The rights of the wedding was handed to another media establishment despite Chong Wei being an Astro Arena and Maxis ambassador. One would not blame the 'celebrities' for cashing in. However, it is indeed surprising that those (media organisations) who have been supporting them all along seem to have been 'dianak tirikan' for more moolah (money). Oh well.... HD says : And tonight I'll be attending my old scho...

"Amt (amount) owed for EPF, Socso & Income Tax reduced to RM1.3million" I find that statement disturbing. Teams have not been paying their players' EPF, Socso and income taxes for years. Read here , here and here . The national body (FA of Malaysia) have in the past announced that "action will be taken" against teams that default such payments. And yet, we hear that amount owed is "reduced" - if that is true indeed. Reduced is not the word. It should instead read teams have CLEARED all payments as that is how it is supposed to be. And a word of advice to national bodies - say what you mean or be branded as cakap tak serupa bikin. Meanwhile, read about the matches played in the evening here . HD says: When will we ever learn..

"Saya sudah menemui ramuan terbaik untuk pasukan (bagi menghadapi musim baru Liga Super), namun masih terdapat beberapa kelemahan yang perlu saya perbaiki terutamanya di bahagian tengah." Itu kata-kata jurulatih pasukan Selangor Irfan Bakti seperti dilaporkan Bernama semalam. "Saya akan lihat perkembangan pemain disebabkan kita sudah masuk fasa akhir persediaan bagi menghadapi Liga Super musim depan sebelum menyenarai pemain. Saya yakin kita akan lihat kualiti dan karakter pemain yang sebenar disebabkan mereka perlu bersaing sesama sendiri untuk memastikan mereka terpilih." Ini pula pendapat jurulatih Negeri Sembilan Divaldo Alves Pasukan-pasukan kini bersiap sedia untuk musim baru Liga M. Siapakah pasukan pilihan musim depan? Darul Takzim FC yang dibarisi pemain-pemain 'bintang', Selangor, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan atau pun Perak? Mampukah ATM beri saingan? Apa pendapat anda? HD kata: Sudah pasti tahun depan musim yang menarik.

UPDATE 6.06pm: And I had this to tweet: When blog about football I get constructive comments but on hockey I get childish name-calling comments. A reflection of both sports?  -------- Haresh Bhai, For your information, the blogger got his news from a correspondence in Doha via FB postings & obviously Bernama picked that up. The results of Malaysian matches were updated regularly in the MHC website. Give some credit lah bro, don't always whack only... Also your suggestion for media officer for tournaments is asking too much lah bro, why spend unnecessarily just like MHC have learnt a valuable lesson not to pay RMXk to a blogger to be the media officer for a local tournament lasting 6 weeks. Just stick to blogging enough lah... Anyway, Merry Christmas & hoping for a better 2013 for Malaysian sports.  This was a comment by a reader from the previous posting ' All I want for Christmas... ' Firstly, thank you for leaving your opinion in the comment ...

What is more interesting - the fact that Malaysia held Pakistan to a 3-3 draw in the Asian Champions Trophy or that the national news agency Bernama had to rely on a blog - Malaysian Hockey - for the results. Shouldn't the national body - the Malaysian Hockey Confederation - provide latest results of the national team? Shouldn't a media officer accompany the team for every tournament in order to quickly provide official results and quotes so that journalists will not constantly 'disturb' the coach or the players? Shouldn't such be practiced across the board - hockey, football, badminton and all the other sports? If the blogs instead do a better job, shouldn't they then be appointed to provide results or acknowledged by the NSAs as a source of information? Mere basics. So all I want for Christmas - is professionalism within national sports associations. Can't be that difficult, no? HD says: Will be listening to Christmas songs in office. Merry...

If you've missed the other wedding of the year - not Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo - but between top national squash player Azlan Iskandar and founder of ShoesShoesShoes and KLutched Yiu Lin , here goes.... SDE: Yiu Lin & Azlan from Manggis on Vimeo . HD says: Once again, congrats Azlan & Yiu Lin!

Singapore won the AFF Cup after managing a 3-1 win in the first leg final before losing 1-0 in the second leg. With a 3-2 aggregate, it was enough for the Lions to win their fourth title (1998, 2004, 2007 & 2012). Most of the Islanders enjoyed time together playing in the Malaysian Super League. Perhaps the time spent paid off. Nevertheless, credit goes to the Republic for they have won the title four times while Malaysia are still harping over their 2010 success. Where do we go from here? Perhaps we need to close our AFF 2012 chapter and move forward. To expect miracles in the 2015 Asian Cup qualifications is asking too much. And to lose good officials - currently in the form of Kelly Sathiraj to the FA of Thailand - ...it has to stop. Start listening to your own people, keep your egos aside. If you think you're darn good, then why nothing has changed over the years? Otherwise, Malaysians will always be known as being fair and kind to others, helping others to...

The pain for young athletes under this coach could be excruciating. The master had admitted he was a pothead. The same humble hero, whose emphatic triumphs were reflective of an Olympic medal. The same master who was the product of a life of dedication, ferocious work ethics and an extraordinary talent. Those were the words of The Malay Mail's Editor-at-large Frankie D'Cruz in his column Being Frank published yesterday . Frankie was also named the National Press Club Journalist of the Year in September. For those in the dark, former national hurlder Ishtiaq Mubarak ( pic ) was charged with two counts of drug possession at a Langkawi magistrate court as reported here . As a result, Ishtiaq has been suspended from coaching the national back up athletes as reported here . The case aside, I've met Ishtiaq on many occasions and he has been one of the best sports personalities to deal with. Straight forward man who knows what he is talking about. And yes, we sha...

Sports Commissioner Yassin Salleh questioned the Malaysian Weightlifting Association (MWA) why it had yet to hold its annual general meeting. "Adakah persatuan menghantar surat panggilan mesyuarat melalui sistem pesanan ringkas (SMS) atau maklum melalui media? Mereka sepatutnya dipanggil melalui surat panggilan rasmi seminggu lebih awal, " Yassin told Bernama. The national body, like many others, need to relook at their constitution and adhere to it. While the Sports Commissioner's office may seem to be 'fangless' to some, we need some form of responsibility among the stakeholders to ensure national bodies need not to have a nanny in the form of the Sports Commissioner. While awaiting for some clarification, I would like to thank Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in Nilai for the opportunity to speak to their students about the Media industry. HD says: It was an interesting morning at USIM.

Many had expected the tactically superior Thais to draw or perhaps gain an early lead against Singapore at the Jalan Besar Stadium last night. Instead, hosts Singapore stunned Thailand 3-1 in the first leg AFF Cup final. I take back my words as both teams dished out excellent performances. Singapore obtained their goals through Mustafic Fahrudin (10th minute), Khairul Amri Kamal (61st) and Baihakki Khaizan (90th) ( pic ). The Thais, meanwhile, obtained their consolation goal through Adul Lahsoh (59th). Bet the Singaporeans will thank the FA of Malaysia (FAM) for providing them the avenue to prepare for the AFF Cup. With the exception of  Daniel Mark Bennett, Mustafic and Aleksandar Duric, the rest of the Singaporean players that saw action on the field last night featured for the LionsXII team in the Super League. However, the final has not ended with another 90 minutes to go in Bangkok on Dec 22. Once again, may the best team win. Meanwhile, here's the latest Fif...

It looks like certain parties have started their 'campaign' of installing a new national coach. Current custodian K.Rajagobal has been under fire no thanks to the unimpressive results chalked during a string of friendly matches prior the AFF Cup and the failure to retain the AFF Cup after losing 3-1 in aggregate to Thailand in the semi finals of the regional tournament. To be fair, Rajagobal has always maintained that his goal has always been to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. Remember it is he who guided the team to win the 2010 edition. But what have we achieved since? As our neighbours Thailand and Singapore speak about their teams playing in the two-legged AFF Cup finals, Ong Kim Swee - Harimau Malaya's coach - hogs the limelight in the local dailies as some suggest he should take over Rajagobal's role. There are also polls on social media if Rajagobal should stay of leave ( pic right ). Amri Yahyah claims Kim Swee is suitable for the job as...

"This team is not a holiday place where players come and collect their salary and sit, but they must play for the team with full determination." Those were the words of Johor FA president Tengku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Idris Sultan Ibrahim, as quoted by Bernama, yesterday. Sadly, I missed the press conference at the Thistle Hotel in Johor Baru - the same venue where I sat down with the young prince as we spoke about Johor football, athletics and match-fixing (involving a D7 police officer) in March . Sports247 has an extensive coverage of the event - perhaps due to their 'excellent' relationship with the Johor palace - as seen here , here and here . Newbie Aysha Ridzuan, meanwhile, gives a different perspective of the conference in her blog . It was an odd scene for me because the head coach just gave up his seat for his player.... ...I have been in this industry for only over a year. Maybe I haven't seen much, maybe I'm naive. But a little co...

Some footballers earn big bucks, shaming the salaries of General Managers and CEOs. Most don't. All footballers are exposed to injuries. Apparently, Malaysian footballers are left to fend on their own when such an episode occurs. Some have the luxury of getting the state association to sort their medical bills out while a handful are lucky to get the FA to sort out their rehabilitation process. Nevertheless, several footballers admitted they are left to fend for their own most of the time - from meeting the doctors to their rehabilitation exercise. "We have to fork out our own money bro...." they claim. What happened to insurance or even the Social Security Organisation (Sosco)? Don't the FAs insure or pay the Sosco of their employees?  Nevertheless, being footballers - shouldn't they take it up upon themselves to get their own personal insurances and ensure they are not ignorant of such claims (Sosco included) as they are prone to injuries? Should t...

The limelight has mostly been on the national football team. Hockey - and its never ending fiasco - tries to take centre stage too as seen on Malaysian Hockey. What about our national shuttlers who were smashed out from the group stage of the BWF Super Series Finals in China? What measures are being taken to ensure the shuttlers remain consistent from 2013 and beyond? Are the powers-that-be willing to step up and admit the current crop of players have no potential to join the elite rank and it could take perhaps 10 years or more before a new talent is found? Most importantly, why is the national federation (the BA of Malaysia) taking it upon themselves to find, scout, hone, mold, pump in millions into the players when they should instead organise more tournaments are work even closer with the schools at the grassroots? Indonesia is facing a similar problem despite a having a larger, much larger, population than us. Why should we be contended and claim that if it is diffic...

The South African Football Association conceded Saturday that it had been "infiltrated" two years ago by now-convicted match-fixer Wilson Perumal and his "bogus" football company Football4U -- which was actually a front for Asian betting syndicates. Read the full article here. Who is Wilson Raj Perumal? Well read my previous articles here , here and here to better understand the Singaporean. HD says: What isn't 'fixed' these days???? Sigh!

Itu merupakan kata-kata jurulatih kebangsaan K.Rajagobal ( gambar ) setelah tiba ke tanah air setelah pulang bersama anak buahnya dari perlawanan timbal balik separuh akhir Piala AFF. Malaysia tersungkur 2-0 di Bangkok dan Thailand mara ke final bertemu Singapura apabila mengalahkan Malaysia dengan agreget 3-1. Rajagobal memberitahu Bernama; "Kalau diimbas kembali perlawanan semalam, kita bermula dengan baik denga tidak memberi ruang kepada Thailand untuk mencari gol namun senario itu bertukar selepas pengadil memberikan kad merah kepada Fadhli (Shas).     "Kesemua pemain telah memberikan satu persembahan yang terbaik malahan peminat Thailand sendiri mengatakan bahawa kita bermain dengan baik cuma pengadilan tidak menyebelahi kita." Rajagobal telah menyatakan dari awal lagi bahawa cita-citanya adalah untuk melihat Malaysia layak ke Piala Asia 2015. Tetapi dengan aksi yang dipamerkan oleh pasukan negara sejak memenangi Piala AFF 2010, mampukah Malaysia menepika...

It was nothing like the first leg semi final clash at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Malaysia gave their visitors a run for their money despite the laser lights dancing around the bad field. It was a different story in Bangkok. The pitch was equally bad but South Korean referee Lee Min Hu will have a lot of explaining to do after sending off Fadhli Shas in the first half of the return leg semi final clash between both nations. Both teams were overly cautious in their tactics with Thailand spending most of the time in the Malaysian half. All they needed were two quick goals in the second half - courtesy of Teerasil Dangda and  Theerathon Butmathan (60th and 65th minutes respectively) sealed the deal for the host nation as they advance to the final with a 3-1 aggregate. Are the national defenders to be blamed for the two goals? Members of the Media in Bangkok quoted national coach K.Rajagobal as saying he is "proud of his lads" and will now "focus for the...

Singapore edged the Philippines 1-0 in the AFF Cup return leg semifinal at the Jalan Besar Stadium last night. The solitary goal of the match was scored by Khairul Amri in the 19th minute and the Island nation advanced to the final with a 1-0 aggregate (after having managed a goalless draw in the first leg clash in Manila on Saturday). National pride and personal sentiments aside, it remains unclear if both teams deserve a place in the semi finals to begin with . Nevertheless, Singapore did thrash Malaysia 3-0 in the curtain raiser at Bukit Jalil - Malaysia's worst defeat to their neighbours on home soil. Also, the other teams have failed to live up to expectations as many now question the standard of play in the region compared to the 2010 edition. That aside, the Harimau Malaya squad will now take on Thailand in the other return leg semi final in Bangkok tonight (8pm). Both teams were tied to a 1-1 draw in their first battle at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Sun...

The so-called Malaysian women’s team at the championships is made up of mainly Indian citizens who are working or studying or just visiting Malaysia.  The team is not entered by either of the two recognised national kabaddi bodies in the country – Malaysia Kabaddi Federation or the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia. It is learnt that the so-called team led by an official from Punjab had forged a letterhead of a non-existent kabaddi association in Malaysia to enter the team for the tournament. In Malaysia we would say - wah lau wei! A 'fake' national kabbadi team in India? This was brought to my attention. Read the full article here . What will the Malaysian governing body do about it - if true? That aside, there's a new Bahasa Malaysia magazine on racket sports in town. It's called 'Flick', focusing mainly on badminton and will be on sale at a major bookstore sometime next week. HD says: Wah lau wei.....

Tumpuan sudah tentu ke arah skuad Harimau Malaya yang akan menentang Thailand dalam perlawanan timbal balik separuh akhir Piala AFF di Bangkok Khamis ini. Namun, jangan kita lupa perjuangan atlit-atlit universiti khususnya pemain bola sepak universiti negara yang akan bermain Laos petang ini (3.30 petang) dalam perlawanan pertaman Sukan Universiti Asean (AUG) di Vientiane. Pemain ATM K.Reuben ( gambar ) akan beraksi bersama pasukan negara dalam kejohanan tersebut. Pada masa yang sama, undian Piala FA telahpun dibuat. Berikut merupakan perlawanan-perlawanan pusingan pertama; PKNS FC lwn LionsXII Sarawak lwn Melaka Preach Khan Reach lwn Pulau Pinang PBAPP FC KL lwn Pos Malaysia UiTM FC lwn Negeri Sembilan PDRM lawan Pulau Pinang SPA Putrajaya FC lwn Terengganu Kedah lwn NS Betaria FC Darul Takzim FC lwn Perak Sabah lwn Felda United Selangor lwn ATM Johor lwn Pahang Pahang Kuantan Port lwn ATM Tentera Darat T-Team lwn Perlis Musim 2013 akan bermula pada 5 Jan mel...

National coach K.Rajagobal admitted his side will face an uphill battle when they play Thailand in Bangkok in the AFF Cup return leg semifinal this Thursday. Malaysia were held to a 1-1 draw against the Thais in the first leg match held at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil last night. Norshahrul Idlan Talaha finally inked his name on the score sheet with a goal in the 48th minute but Thailand's Teerasil Dangda silenced the Malaysian crowd with a brilliant header in the 78th minute. Rajagobal had this to say; “It was the best match we’ve played. Honestly, we deserved a 3-1 win but I can’t ask for more. We didn’t start with the core players but the boys played a good match. “I know it will be a tough match in Thailand and it can go any way. The critics thought Thailand would have defeated us at Bukit Jalil but that didn’t happen. This is football.” Thailand coach German Winfried Anton Schafer   - who was sent off by Iranian referee Torki Mohsen Ramezanali - ...