Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol KUALA LUMPUR  — Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general-secretary Datuk Windsor Paul John said Malaysia will play their Asian Cup qualifying match in Pyongyang, as the government has not imposed a travel ban to North Korea. Responding to claims the FA of Malaysia (FAM) may appeal against the decision to play the June 8 match in the hermit kingdom, Windsor said: “They are free to do so. “I’m not the one making the decision. The committee will decide and FAM must justify their appeal, if they intend to do so that is.” Windsor said it was AFC, and not the Malaysian government, who would assess the security situation in Pyongyang. “We will assess the situation there two weeks before the tournament. The AFC Women’s Asian Cup was held in Pyongyang … we had players and officials from all over the world there. Everything went well.” According to AFC regulations, Windsor said a match could only be played in a neutral venu...

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol and Wan Noriza Meor Idris mmnews@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR  — The FA of Malaysia (FAM) will “exhaust all options” after it was decided the national team will play North Korea in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers in Pyongyang next month. The decision, made by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Monday, sent jitters down the spines of several parties as this will be the nation’s first official visit to the hermit kingdom following a diplomatic row between both countries. China, South Korea and the United States were also at the edge of their seats following threats of nuclear missile tests by the rogue state. FAM general secretary Datuk Hamidin Amin, who was in Bahrain for the annual Fifa Congress, said he would speak to FAM president Tunku Ismail Ibrahim on their next move ahead of the match. “We are concerned. The first thing I’ll do when I get back is to meet Tunku Ismail and get his views. We will exhaust all optio...

TWO former footballers were charged in the Sessions Court in Seremban this morning with two counts of offering bribes to two Malaysian Indian Sports Council-Malaysian Indian Football Association (MISC-MIFA) players involving RM20,000. National player Khairul Anuar Baharum, 43, and Public Bank player S G. Prem Kumar, 49, claimed trial to both charges. On the first charge, they are accused of offering RM10,000 to MIFA goal keeper Mohd Khairul Izzuwan Shaari to fix the outcome of the match, 0-2, between MISC-MIFA and Perak State Development Corporation on April 7, this year. On the second charge, they are accused of offering RM10,000 to MIFA player S.Harivarman for the same purpose. They allegedly committed the offences at Jalan Andalas 1, Senawang Light Industry Area in Seremban between 9pm and 10pm on March 27. Deputy public prosecutor Nurdiyanah Mohd Nawawi represented the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) while Khairul Anuar or ”Ah Chong” was represented by co...

It was April 17, 2017. The selection committee for the National Sports Awards met at Casa 1, National Sports Council. Among those in the committee were NST sports editor Vijesh Rai, The Star deputy sports editor Eric Samuel and Sportswriters Association of Malaysia secretary Faisal Jamal. I was privileged to be part of the committee for the second time (first being last year) and thankful to be part of a team that created history on April 26, 2017. It was decided, with the consensus of all present, that we send a message by naming Abdul Latif Romly as National Sportsman of the Year. He deserves it, having smashed the world record three times in the long jump (T20) event at the Rio Paralympics on Sept 11, 2016. There were questions raised if he was better than the other contenders. But there were those who argued how can one compare a cyclist and a shuttler? The awards ceremony is not just about recognising our heroes but a perfect platform to send a message to the...

As published in Sunday Mail By Haresh Deol P ETALING JAYA — A former footballer has disclosed how Kuala Lumpur FA was “managed” by alleged bookie G. Prem Kumar in 2013. The footballer, who revealed all to Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity, described his season with the city side as a “nightmare”. Nicknamed Tom Boy, the 49-year-old Prem Kumar from Sentul was detained on Thursday and remanded on Friday for six days over allegations of match-fixing. This was following the arrests of three Malaysian Indian Sports Council-Malaysian Indian FA (MISC-MIFA) footballers for their alleged involvement in corrupt practices. Threatened in Sentul He added Prem Kumar, who was married to a police officer, was no stranger to the domestic scene and once played as a striker for Public Bank. “He then became an official with Public Bank (in 2003) and was active in community football. I’ve seen him play in smaller tournaments,” he said. Recalling the 2013 fi...

As published in Sunday Mail By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The FA of Malaysia (FAM) were “advised” by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to come down hard on Kuala Lumpur Premier League players in 2013 A ranking MACC officer said it was unfortunate the national body did not follow through with their recommendations and instead only handed life bans to five KL players — Fadhullah Yunsifar, Phoo Kai Lun, Khairul Anuar Shafie, Jeremy Danker and Hafizi Roslee. Seventeen others in the team, including goalkeeper Azizon Abdul Kadir, who pleaded guilty were slapped with a RM5,000 fine each. Azizon went on to play for the national team. “We made our recommendations to FAM to ensure they punished the players. The decision was to serve as a stern warning to the other players,” said the officer. “Instead, 17 players were handed mere fines. That’s not right, not right at all.” He was baffled how goalkeeper Azizon, who admitted to match-f...

“Corruption involving local footballers is still prevalent in the country. We are still encountering cases involving corruption among footballers, but it is not easy to prosecute someone without any concrete evidence." Those were the words of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ( MACC) deputy chief commissioner Datuk Azam Baki. Read the report here . Here's the thing. Since the establishment of the full time committee comprising the FA of Malaysia, MACC and police in 2012 , we have hardly heard of any arrests made. Reason? As Azam said, it's not easy to prosecute without concrete evidence. As for FAM?  It's Coordination and Integrity Department, headed by former policeman Osman Bakar, does not seem to have the power or means to nab those responsible for corrupting the beautiful game. Insiders reveal the national body has been providing information to the authorities throughout last year. The M-League is still being monitored by betting websites....