Foul!

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have lifted the ban on the 84 players caught for match fixing 22 years ago. FAM deputy-president Datuk Seri Affandy Hamzah said the players are now free to participate in all football-related activities at state and national levels. “Of the six players who are serving life bans, we will appeal to the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and FIFA (world football’s governing body) to lift their sentences,” said Affandy after chairing the FAM executive committee meeting at the Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya on Monday. Read the full report here . The lifting of ban is good news for the 84 former players once caught for match-fixing and are eager to return. But are we setting a wrong precedent by allowing them back into the scene? It would be interesting to know how have these 84 players assisted the authorities in nabbing bookies. We have not heard of any "big fish" arrested since the crackdown on players and official...

Ah, match-fixing...a subject close to my heart. Those who know me well would have read my articles especially those published in The Malay Mail on the subject. There was the Con Deal? between the presumed Zimbabwe team and Malaysia in 2009 which lead to the sacking of Zimbabwe FA CEO Henrietta Rushwaya (who was later arrested ). Then there were several President's Cup players who confessed having been approached by bookies as revealed here . I remember writing about Singaporean KM Rajendran and the infamous Wilson Raj Perumal - who is believed to have a hand in the Zimbabwe-Malaysia match that I exposed. Even a coach of a football team spilled the beans as reported here . So much so, investigative journalist Declan Hill - widely known for his book The Fix - gave me special mention in his blog . However, match-fixing is nothing new in the country. Many still remember the 1994 fiasco that saw the suspension and banning of more than 100 players and coaches in the ...

UPDATE March 21, 2012 11.06am: A Johor Football Association official has been detained for alleged involvement in match-fixing in the state. Sources said the woman, alleged to have links to certain bookies, was remanded for seven days to facilitate police investigations. They said police were also investigating claims that she was closely linked to a police officer from the anti-vice and gaming division. Read more here . Meanwhile, Johor FA applaud investigation by Police as reported here . ------ Update 5.11pm: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will scrutinise reports claiming elements of bribery involving several cops from Johor who are linked to football bookies. Read the full Bernama report here . ---- Tengku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibrahim had via his tweet on Saturday said "D7 officer is one of the bookies in JOHOR. Also involve in other crimes." Instead of just relying on the tweet, I had to clarify and was given an opportunity to " mengha...

A source, meanwhile, said the bookie who had allegedly offered the RM100,000 was believed to be a former Malaysian international player who quit the game last season. The source said the bookie was well-known for his activities among the football fraternity and it had been going on for some time. In one incident, during his playing days, the bookie had scolded a teammate for scoring a goal which gave his side a 2-0 win instead. This was taken from today's NST. Read more here . So who is the bookie? I bet your guess is as good as mine. Sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga. Silap langkah, hang pun akan jatuh juga. That aside, here are tonight's match ups. Selangor v Sarawak (National Stadium, 8.45pm) Prediction: Selangor 1 Sarawak 0 Negri Sembilan v Felda United (Paroi Stadium, 8.45pm) Prediction: Negri 2 Felda 1 KL v PKNS (Hang Jebat Stadium, 4.45pm) Prediction: KL 1 PKNS 1 Sabah v LionsXII (Likas Stadium, 8.15pm) Prediction: Sabah 0 Lions...