Foul!

"Hockey is safe, hockey is clean. It is one of our qualities, our selling point that the sport is the cleanest around."  Those were the words of International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre as reported here . Match-fixing and doping have reared its ugly head in recent times with a string of athletes facing bans and fines over such unsporting activities. At the same Press Conference held at Royal Chulan Hotel early Wednesday,  Negre went on to say that "Indian hockey is back" as seen in this article . And it was this observation of his which was rather interesting; “In India it was always about internal problems and people fighting. I am glad to say that now under Hockey India, things have improved...." HD says: Isn't that a problem everywhere? Read more at: http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/indian-hockey-is-back-865 Read more at: http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/hockey-clean-from-match-fixing-doping-8650?cp ...

In total, 24 players turned out to be involved. Two of them will banned for life, Mohamad Al-Ali who currently plays for Persiba Balikpapan in the Indonesia Super League, and Ramez Dayoub who plays for Selangor FA in the Malaysia Super League. Two others, Hasi Sehmarani and Hadi Jaafar, will be suspended for 3 seasons, in addition to 20 other players who will be suspended for 1 season each. Read the full article here . Also read here from more info. Looking forward to the reaction from the FA of Malaysia and the FA of Selangor. HD says: Oh boy.....

Remember Titus Palani James ? Yes, the boy that was referred to as "just another juggler" and there were those who ridiculed him by saying he should "join the circus". The Brickfields lad left for France at the age of 12 and is currently playing for French lower league club Nanteuil FC. He is 27 now. It's been more than a decade and some may have forgotten him and the hype that surrounded him. Remember Nazmi Faiz Mansor ? Recently, Nazmi left Beira Mar SC to play for PKNS. He was hardly a year with the third division Portuguese club. Now we have Ahmad Fakri Saarani ( pic ) who is set to play for Kelantan in April. Ahmad was given a brief stint with another Portuguese club Athletico SC but it remains unclear to why he has decided to leave earlier than expected. Watch ' Fakri bakal sertai Kelantan ' by Astro Awani . So here we have a boy from Brickfields who has somehow survived in France. We have a national player who many dubbed is goi...

Here's a letter from national cycling coach John Beasley ahead of the Sime Darby's RM2.85 million sponsorship to the national cycling scene.     From a coaching perspective the joint venture that has been formed between the National Sports Council of Malaysia and the Sime Darby foundation has given track cycling in Malaysia a great chance at defying even greater odds.   Since 2006 I have been effectively employed by Malaysia to try and help turn a small spark into a large flame. I use the word small spark intentionally as in terms of our physical size (comparative to other nations) our cycling infrastructure we are relatively small.  However, I also use spark intentionally as since 2006 we have been able to consistently produce performances that capture the eyes of the world. Each and every day since the beginning of my employment we have worked at creating a flame, a hot bed of talent, to help give Malaysia the world-class program it deserves so ...

I respect BA of Malaysia (BAM) president Nadzmi Salleh ( pic ) and his council members. I sincerely do. However, respect does not mean I have to agree with what they say and do all the time. I may respect a certain office bearer but I will still say that he has done nothing for the development of sport in his state. I'm sure there are many within the badminton fraternity who can attest to that. So when the registration of the nominees for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) presidency closed on Feb 22, I was not amused to see Nadzmi's name. Nadzmi, however, is confident of nailing the top post despite the three corner race between Indonesia's Justian Suhandinata and former Olympian Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen, as revealed by NST's KM Boopathy . To be fair, there are those who claim it is important to have a figure within the world body - to make life 'easier' for Malaysia in the international front. Nevertheless, I am a strong believer that one should be...

Assembled for just $10,000 , the team's extraordinary exploits have spirits soaring in the Yorkshire city and far beyond. Currently lying in 79th place out of the 92 top clubs in England, Bradford City will on Sunday contest a national cup final after a succession of thrilling, giant-killing triumphs over teams including Arsenal, the London-based club  valued at $1.5 billion last year . One of Bradford's biggest stars was stacking shelves in a local supermarket not long ago. Now James "Big Jim" Hanson will find himself playing in front of 90,000 fans at London's iconic Wembley Stadium and a television audience of millions. A representative of the Dalai Lama even wrote a letter to say the exiled Tibetan religious leader wished Bradford City's fans "every success in the big match." In football and in life, it's not about having a star-studded cast but the right spirit, attitude and formula. Read 'Fairy Tale ': Soccer team ...

"Setakat ini Kafa belum dimaklum apa-apa. Saya cuma baca dalam blog dan baca dalam suratkhabar.." Berikut merupakan kata-kata penasihat Persatuan Bola Sepak Kelantan (Kafa) Annuar Musa apabila persatuan tersebut dikenakan denda RM62,500 oleh Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia (FAM) kerana gara-gara penyokong yang membaling mercun dan objek keras ke arah padang dalam perlawanan Liga Super menentang Darul Takzim FC pada 15 Januari lalu di Kota Bharu. Penyokong Kafa pula merasakan keputusan tersebut "berat sebelah", lebih-lebih lagi apabila FAM masih belum memberi kata putus tentang insiden pergaduhan antara pasukan Selangor dan ATM baru-baru ini. Namun, FAM mengakui insiden Selangor-ATM masih dalam siasatan dan "tindakan selanjutnya masih tidak dapat diputuskan". Bagaimanapula dengan kenyataan presiden Johor FA Tunku Ismail Ibrahim mengenai mutu pengadilan dan 'bookie' dalam Liga-M? Pilih kasih? Ataupun keputusan FAM memang tepat kerana ga...

An unexpected surprise was awarded to one lucky Malaysian, Sharizad Naim ( pic, second from left ) for winning a trip for two to Gold Coast, Australia; among other participants from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand in the Quiksilver Enjoy the Experience contest.   Quiksilver Malaysia customers were given the opportunity to participate in this contest together with other participants around South East Asia from 8th January till 8th February 2013.  The contest were held in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration and Quiksilver shoppers were required to purchase RM288 and above in a single receipt to be eligible for an entry. The winner of this contest receive prizes worth up to AUD$4,000 (RM12,712) which includes a return economy flights for two people to Gold Coast, Australia, 5 nights stay at Watermark Hotel & Spa Surfers Paradise, two VIP passes to the 2013 Quiksilver and Roxy Pro, two World Passes to Dream World and White Water World, a one d...

Press Release The Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, an ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament which celebrates its 5th anniversary in Malaysia this year, was among 14 successful recipients from around the world in the ATP ACES For Charity grant program for 2013, which awards grants of US$10,000 (RM29,885) each to charitable causes nominated by ATP World Tour players and tournaments. Entering its third year, the ATP Aces for Charity programme supports a wide and varied range of causes globally, including childhood education in Serbia, tennis programs for disadvantaged youth in Colombia, Portugal and Tanzania, healthcare in Cincinnati, Eastbourne and the Ukraine, and social services for the elderly in Romania. This was the third successive year that the local ATP World Tour 250 tournament had nominated 'Dignity for Children', a foundation that supports childhood education for the underprivileged in Malaysia, for the grant, and Tournament Director Nick Freyer of organisers IMG was...

I must firstly thank the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) for their continuous efforts to recognise the work of sports journalist in the country. I must thank those who still have faith in my work although I was informed certain officials refused to look at the stage when the Sports Ministry's secretary-general Mohid Mohammed handed me the trophy and a nice Nikon V1 camera for the Best Article (Print) Award 2012 for my article " Insurance bungle " that appeared in The Malay Mail on Jan 11, 2012 during the SAM-Sports Ministry Awards ceremony at PJ Hilton yesterday. And I must congratulate my fellow compatriots who were nominated and won awards in their respective categories. I am glad that through my writings, former Negeri Sembilan physiotherapist See Kim Leong's wife was able to obtain the insurance money after her husband passed away due to a heart attack on Feb 5, 2011 as seen here . This is in addition to the Best Special Report and Sportswriter...

Olympic Council of Malaysia secretary Sieh Kok Chi ( picture ) is known to be one who speaks his mind. However, it comes with a price as his latest comments that appeared in The Star - Mr OCM speaks his mind - has apparently not gone down well with some of the office bearers. It is learnt that a letter was sent out, questioning Kok Chi's supposed "unethical conduct" as per his presumed statements that appeared in the daily. This certainly reminds one of the FA of Malaysia's  Article 88 saga. HD says : That aside, Keong Hee Huat Chye to my Hokkien friends.

This makes a good case study of instances where the social media supposedly representing the voice of a certain organisation (or its supporters) are clouded over what is acceptable and what isn't when engaging with the public. Cardiff City edged Bristol City FC 2-1 in a Championship match on Feb 16. Nevertheless, what stole the limelight was the way and manner those administrating Bristol City FC's Facebook and Twitter accounts engaged with its 'followers'. A picture of Bristol FC fans pointing at the Jalur Gemilang (Malaysian flag) while singing; "What the f*ucking hell is that!" was posted on the Bristol City FC supporters page. This naturally resulted in fans further commenting about the "singing session" while Malaysians were obviously unimpressed with the whole episode There were banters exchanged on Twitter too, most often in a childish like manner. The key element of managing the "voice" of a certain group - offici...

Investigators say such gambling operations hire workers to rapidly place thousands of small online bets — maybe no more than $1,000 each — on fixed games. The scattershot of small bets, rather than several large ones, can help hide fixes from monitoring companies in Europe that use computer software to look for unusual wagering. "They employ kids and they employ people in Singapore and Malaysia to do that for them," said Chris Eaton, former head of security for FIFA, soccer's governing body. "They virtually have a sweatshop, if you like, of people with a large number of credit cards and laptop computers, and they punch those things when they are given the green light." Read the full article here . One bookmaker's Malaysian manager, who refused to give his name because of the illegal nature of his business, conceded that the operation was running "on borrowed time." Here's another article of football gambling thriving in Camb...

It was certainly a heartbreak for many on Valentine's Day. Malaysia continued to slip down the Fifa rankings as they are now at 159 - a spot below compared to last month. And do expect the team to slip even further based on the upcoming matches (especially the 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers). I had last month written this; Malaysia di tangga 158 Fifa; ranking tidak penting? While K.Rajagobal's lads continue to find their footing, a small portion of fans are beginning to shy away from the stands. There are those who constantly criticise the national team, often comparing the standard of play to the days of Santokh Singh, the late Mokhtar Dahari and Soh Chin Aun. There are also those who are ultra fanatic, supporting the team during good times and bad times. But a majority are giving up their passion towards local football as the same excitement when Malaysia won the AFF Cup in 2010 is fading away. It also doesn't help that despite having a 'professional leag...

Investigations in dozens of countries in 2012 have involved hundreds of players and officials, revealing the extent of the problem that threatens to undermine the integrity of the game. Matches can be rigged so that criminal gambling rings and others in the know can make money off bets. But sometimes, the rigging is done to keep a team in a more prestigious league, where it can earn big revenue. Read the full article here . HD says: Happy Valentine's Day folks!

This was taken from an Associated Press article. Soccer, or football as it is known in most of the world, is being plagued by match-fixing linked to emboldened criminal gangs or corrupt officials. Here are some comments on the global problem: ''Football is in a disastrous state. ... Fixing of matches for criminal gambling fraud purposes is absolutely endemic worldwide ... arrogantly happening daily.'' - Chris Eaton , director of sport integrity at the International Centre for Sport Security. ''It sounds like a fairy tale or a novel. It's absolute craziness, something unbelievable - but it's all true.' ' - Italian prosecutor Roberto Di Martino on a case in which an Italian goalkeeper under pressure to rig a game drugged five of his teammates so they would play badly. ''Twenty years of hard work I destroyed in just one month.'' - Mario Cizmek, a Croatian player convicted of match-fixing. ''For my coope...

It is the first astroturf hockey stadium in the country. It is named after our second Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein - the father of our current Prime Minister Najib Razak. Yet, the current state at the Tun Razak hockey stadium does not reflect its name or history. It is shameful, pathetic to a certain extent. The stadium serves as a training and competition venue for all levels - from schools to local leagues. Nevertheless, the turf - mainly near the 'D' of both ends - is not in a playable condition and poses a great danger to those playing on it due to the uneven surface. Such were also seen at the KL Education Ministry turf in Pantai and Bandar Penawar Sports School - as exposed by the author - in the past. The author visited the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday only to see three workers literally sewing the turf with pieces of turf cut just outside the playing area. "This is a temporary measure," said one of the worker. When asked if such a mea...

On an extremely short Chinese New Year break. Will be back tomorrow. Till then, Gong Xi Fa Chai folks!!!

“Some players from Terengganu are going to enjoy stints in Europe...either England, Portugal or Holland.” Those were the words of T-Team coach Peter Butler ( pic ). This came about after the author contacted Butler just before appearing on Nadi Arena on Saturday regarding former SC Beira-Mar player Nazmi Faiz Mansor. SC Beira-Mar had, in an email, revealed that “ In the next season we will bring one or two players from Malaysia, who will be chosen by Peter Butler.” “Who told you?” was Butler’s first response when asked over the contents of the email by the Portugal club. “Look, clubs from England, Portugal...they call me all the time asking about talents in the country. “Honestly, the Malaysian players are a talented lot but talent alone is not enough to survive in Europe. They are still not strong enough and it will take some time before Malaysian players make it abroad,” he added. Nazmi Faiz Mansor courted controversy on and off the field with his su...

"Saya sibuk cari duit bagi membayar gaji pemain dan saya tidak ada masa untuk melayan FAM sebab gaji pemain, mereka (FAM) tak tolong bayar." Berikut merupakan kata-kata presiden Persatuan Bola Sepak Perlis Shahidan Kassim melalui khidmat pesanan ringkas kepada Bernama .  Ini berkenaan surat yang dikeluarkan Jawatankuasa Tatatertib FAM kepada Shahidan yang dikatakan melanggari Artikel 88 Statut FAM. Ya, Artikel 88 kembali lagi. Musim lalu, Annuar Musa menjadi mangsa Artikel yang sama. Banyak yang diperkatakan namun Artikel tersebut masih tetera didalam Statut FAM. Jangan salahkan jawatankuasa yang terlibat kerana mereka hanya mengikut undang-undang yang sedia ada.  Mereka yang berlajar undang-undang tahu 'a bad law is still law'. Annuar Musa dan Shahidan menjadi mangsa. Siapa pula selepas ini? Mungkin kita harus pastikan mereka yang pandai membodek juga terperangkap dalam Artikel 88 supaya mereka sedar bahawa mereka sebenarnya mempunyai kuasa untuk membu...

More Malaysian players to see action with SC Beira-Mar? That seems to be so after the author obtained confirmation from the club that they are working closely with T-Team coach Peter Butler to bring "one or two players" to play for the Portugal club next season. In an email to the author, SC Beira-Mar's Department of Communication representative Luis Viega said; "Regarding your questions about Nazmi Faiz (Mansor), initially we agreed a concession for six months, but then he asked to stay in Malaysia for personal reasons.  "Focus on what matters to us is that we remain very committed to help develop football in Malaysia and now we are working in contact with Peter Butler. In the next season we will bring one or two players from Malaysia, who will be chosen by Peter Butler." The email was in response to queries about Nazmi Faiz leaving the club despite it was earlier reported on the club's website that he will be released for only "six mon...