Foul!

As published in Mailsport today Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — It was a sensation Datuk Ong Kim Swee could not describe. Right after Fifa informed FA of Malaysia (FAM) regarding a switch in the Palestine-Malaysia World Cup qualifying venue, the interim national coach quickly called his family. Palestine were to host Saudi Arabia in Ramallah today and Malaysia on Nov 12 at the Dura Stadium in Hebron — a city which had been hit by numerous attacks between security forces and Palestinians in recent weeks. Palestinian FA (PFA) were supposed to “provide Fifa urgently all the details of the chosen neutral ground for the hosting of both matches”.  “My family were relieved. I was relieved as well after (FAM general secretary) Datuk Hamidin Amin broke the news,” he said. Fifa had yesterday informed PFA the matches against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia must be played on neutral ground.  Fifa said “the Palestinian government confirmed ...

As published in Mailsport today By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my        KUALA LUMPUR — FA of Malaysia (FAM) will write to Fifa for a third time to request the World Cup qualifier against Palestine in Hebron on Nov 12 be played at a neutral venue. This follows recent reports of shootings between security forces and Palestinians recently. Fifa rejected FAM’s two earlier appeals, insisting the match will proceed at Dura Stadium. Saudi Arabia, who meet Palestine in another World Cup qualifier on Thursday, raised concerns of playing in the West Bank in their letter to Fifa on Friday. The teams were scheduled to play in Ramallah on Oct 13 but that was postponed after the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) invoked a case of force majeure preventing their team from travelling to the Palestinian territories. ”We are aware of the situation and will write to Fifa (today) to express our concerns. We have written to them before but that will n...

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...