Cries of foul play in Malaysian football dramas

drama leading up to the new M-League season is as intense as the action in ‘Bollywood’ or ‘Kollywood’ movies.

In Indian movies, there will normally be two main characters, who fall in love, dance around trees before a villain comes into the picture to spoil the party. They normally have a happy ending, but some do not.

In the M-League, it has become a norm of late for big teams to pinch players who have had one or two good seasons with their previous clubs.

The story in Malaysian football is that the bigger teams always get what they want.

They will somehow find a loophole in the country’s footballing system before enticing the players with huge salaries.

Sadly, some players, though highly rated, will fall down the pecking order in their new teams and later disappearing, taking their wasted talent with them.

However, most are happy to play second fiddle at big teams as long as their fat pay cheque comes on time.

The lack of desire to look afar or beyond Malaysian shores is the reason why we do not have a good pool of high-quality players.

Akhyar Rashid, for instance, a budding star, who had a breakthrough season last year, has hit the headlines over his controversial move to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) from Kedah.

He has signed a sweet four-year contract with a RM12 million release clause.

However, Kedah are unhappy with the manner Akhyar was signed by JDT.

They were offered RM210,000 (buyout sum) and RM75,000 (compensation), which were decided by the FAM status committee but to them it is not about money.

An appeal was filed with FAM, but the Kedah FA’s (KFA) plea was shot down.

Now, KFA want to take Akhyar’s case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and surprisingly, FAM and the Malaysian Football League (MFL) do not want them to do it.

Kedah believe the offer from JDT to Akhyar came through the back door without their knowledge, and they want the truth to be unfolded.

This is not the first time a player has been pinched by bigger clubs.

There have been many cases in the past where a player, still contracted with his club, was seen having coffee or tea with officials from another club, and the next thing you know, he joined them.

FAM and MSL must put a stop to these practices which are unhealthy for Malaysian football.

Frankly, the Super League is dull. In fact, most fans can predict who will win the trophy for the next five seasons.

There is another thing I want to ask FAM. What happened to some of the “heritage” players who were granted citizenships over the last four or five years?

There are a few who can walk into the national team but somehow they are not picked.

Are these players hesitant to don national colours or is it because the clubs they represent, are discouraging them?

As a journalist, I would easily get answers for this question from FAM officials, football agents, coaches or others closely associated with football, but sadly, everything will be “off record.”

Will all the problems in Malaysian football have a happy ending like in Bollywood or Kollywood movies?

I doubt it, but let’s pray that these issues do not halt the progress of our national senior and youth teams, who all did well last year.