The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have been reminded to be cautious in handling their affairs in order to avoid facing a potential ban from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) due to the interference of the government in the past few weeks.
The national governing body faced the music when Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) owner Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim revealed to the country that he had a pendrive in his possession which contained information regarding FAM’s corrupted history over the past few decades.
Things became serious when Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin stepped in the middle and met with FAM president Tengku Abdullah, who announced his upcoming resignation, earlier last week. The meeting concluded and Khairy Jamaluddin asked FAM treasurer Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria to present accounts to The Crown Prince of Johor.
“We are currently monitoring closely the developments in Malaysia. As to government interference we will act should there be an official complaint from FAM,” Asian Football Confederation general secretary Datuk Windsor Paul John said as quoted by Harian Metro.
The Southern Tigers’ owner became FAM’s public enemy number one when he criticized the body for mistreating the national team and not putting much attention into them, especially when four of his players (Safiq Rahim, Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak, S. Kunanlan and Amirulhadi Zainal) announced their retirement from the national team as they were fed up with FAM.
Khairy Jamaluddin had a brief phone call with Tunku Ismail after meeting with Tengku Abdullah and claimed that Malaysia is in the process of acquiring a new football formula.
Malaysia may face a potential ban from FIFA because of an interference from the government, similar to FIFA’s ban on Indonesia for having two separate associations.
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