Malaysia’s Youth and Sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin has threatened to suspend the Football Association of Malaysia, if they continue to stall the development of Malaysian football.
FAM have been under-fire over the last 48 hours or so, after the national team fell to an embarrassing 10-0 defeat at the hands of UAE on Thursday. The result led to Dollah Salleh tendering his resignation, but Khairy claims that deeper problems need to be dealt with as soon as possible.
“I’m going to be calling FAM to provide a report on the national team’s recent defeat. That result was embarrassing for the whole nation,” he said in a statement that was posted on his Facebook page.
“Dollah’s decision to step down was the right one, he had no options after the team was ripped apart. But his resignation isn’t enough. He is just a sympton to a bigger disease that’s ruining Malaysian football.”
“The Ministry of Youth and Sports does have the necessary jurisdiction to suspend any sporting associations. But it’s usually the last step, after exhausting every other option.
“When a sporting association is banned by the government, it usually comes along with several implications on an international level. When the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) was suspended by the Indonesian government, FIFA barred the national team from competing in any international competition.
“Are we ready to face similar consequences, if FAM gets banned?” he added.
Other posts by FO Newsdesk
