Malaysia FA bans 18 players for match-fixing
Reuters - Monday 06 February 2012, 08:44
A match-fixing scandal in Malaysia
that led to 18 players being banned by the country's football
association has been blasted as a "disgrace" by the country's
sports minister.
A coach was also among those suspended by the Football
Association of Malaysia (FAM), local media reported, while Youth
and Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek has called for police
action.
"I will direct the respective authorities to investigate and
find out the source of the match-fixing scandal," he was quoted
as saying by Malaysia's Bernama news agency.
The 18 youth players were banned for two to five years,
while a coach was booted out of the game for life at the weekend
following a probe into a match-fixing ring.
Malaysia was also rocked by a match-fixing scandal in the
mid-1990s resulting in more than a 100 players being banned.
Asian football's image has taken a battering in recent years
with corruption scandals in China and South Korea, the latter
linked to the suspected suicide of a player.
Indonesian football continues to court a FIFA ban after a
leadership election crisis and with its association at war with
a breakaway rebel league.
The chaos extended all the way to the top with former Asian
Football Confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hamman removed from
office amid a bribery scandal during his defunct FIFA presidency
bid.