By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – In another alarming example of how matchfixing is blighting Asian football, Malaysian authorities have found an entire lower league team guilty of manipulating games.
Officials have confirmed newspaper reports that 17 players from Kuala Lumpur FA, who have suffered back-to-back relegations and are now competing in the country’s third-tier FAM league, had been fined.
In December Malaysia imposed lifetime bans on five players and three officials, all also from Kuala Lumpur.
The 17 were given lighter punishments because they had been “victims of circumstance,” FAM disciplinary committee chairman Taufek Abdul Razak (pictured) was quoted as saying. “Our investigations revealed that the players had no option … they were threatened with physical harm by the bookies.”
“The players have pleaded guilty and appealed for leniency. So, we decided to fine them because they fixed the matches under duress. The players wanted to report to the authorities but feared for their safety. In fact, some of the players were beaten up for not following the orders of the bookies.”
Malaysia, like much of south-east Asia, is home to illegal gambling cartels that have been responsible for a string of global match-rigging scandals. In May 2012 angry fans waved banners with slogans such as ‘Bookie detected’ and ‘Bookie 5 – Fans 0’.
The same year, FAM suspended 18 youth players and banned a coach for life. Further back still, in 1994, 21 players and coaches were sacked, 58 players were suspended and 126 players questioned over corruption.
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