Johor DT owner Tunku Ismail has vowed to publicly address Football Association of Malaysia and the sort of ‘corrupt’ practices that they actively engage in, when he speaks at the World Football Summit, this weekend.
TMJ, as he is fondly known, is currently in Spain for the prestigious football event. But yesterday, the Crown Prince took time to address the ongoing ‘relegation saga’ in Malaysia, claiming that FAM and Pahang are guilty of nepotism, before threatening to ‘bring the country to shame’ at the summit.
“I am currently in Madrid where I’ll be giving a speech regarding our efforts in helping Malaysian football and football within Southeast Asia. I’m also here to speak about JDT’s success. However, if this is how people within FAM choose to behave, I may change my mind,” he said, via a statement that was released on Johor Southern Tigers.
“I will go on the world stage and tell the World Football Summit about how corrupt FAM is and I will tell it all. I know that by disclosing the truth, I will indirectly bring the country to shame. The choice is in their hands,” he added.
This comes in the midst of an intense crisis in the Super League, which concluded last week. The saga officially began a few days before the final match day, when FAM announced their decision to award Pahang a default 3-0 victory over Kedah, after the Red Eagles were found guilty of fielding a suspended player during their match in August.
The three points officially ensured Pahang’s survival in the Super League, though critics began to question the timing of the decision, since the match happened over two months prior to that. Either way, Pahang were safe, and four teams went into the final match day to fight for survival. Sarawak and Penang eventually clinched safety by beating PDRM and Terengganu, respectively.
But a few days after the Super League officially ended, reports of JDT using a suspended player against PDRM in their MSL match, surfaced. Lucero was suspended for the fixture, having picked up two yellow cards prior to that. Strangely, he was included in JDT’s starting eleven for that match.
This has created a new crisis as FAM’s decision could potentially alter the relegation zone of the MSL table. Should PDRM be granted a default 3-0 win – just like Pahang – they will officially climb out of the drop zone, pushing Penang into it. But according to TMJ, it would be unfair to victimize Penang on so many levels.
“The thing in question now is however, regarding the FAM statute that clearly states that there shall be no protest 72 hours after the game. Hence, why did FAM’s Disciplinary Board call for a meeting and deliberated that Pahang is to receive three (3) free points after 2 months?
“Adding to this, they’re trying to salvage PDRM which who also happens to be an associate to Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s son in law. The people within FAM which includes the excos are not very fond of Pulau Pinang as it is managed by Datuk Gary Nair (currently the deputy President of Pulau Pinang FA). Datuk Gary Nair is deemed a threat and an enemy to FAM as he was vocal and objected to the policy of HM Sultan Pahang as FAM’s President during HM Sultan Pahang’s tenure. With this, it seems that FAM intends to relegate Pulau Pinang in order to save their friendly party, PDRM,” TMJ explained.
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