Foul!

As published in Mailsport today Comment by Frankie D’Cruz   frankie@mmail.com.my FIRST it was Nepal, now Macau — minnows who have held Malaysia to draws and probably condemned us to isolation in world football. FA of Malaysia (FAM) haven’t you just given lowly teams a great chance to improve their Fifa rankings at our expense? The miserable results against Nepal and Macau have earned Malaysia some waspish headlines but carrying on your merry way is ultimately what matters doesn’t it? Plainly, the cavalier approach and the naively kneejerk proposals by the FAM to give our football a facelift is a show of contempt to the nation. This is Malaysian football today, one that reminds me of the scene in Pulp Fiction where the bloke comes out of the kitchen, fires off dozens of rounds at John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson and reacts in horror as every single bullet misses the target.  FAM might appear invulnerable, but they are incorrigible and disrespect...

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...