PETALING JAYA, Sept 27 — The Malaysia Cup competition, which moves to the quarterfinals stage tomorrow, will have special visitors attending the matches who will scrutinise the matches themselves.
The officials from these three agencies will not only observe the matches, but also the run-up to the games, including the training sessions.
This will continue all the way to the final.
The special attention comes in the wake of allegations that matches were being fixed.
Although no concrete evidence has surfaced as yet, FAM is taking precaution and intends to leave no stones unturned in their efforts to fight corruption, the scourge of many football associations in the world.
“We will have special observers at the matches to observe what goes on on and off the pitch,” said FAM secretary general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
“As a matter of fact, we are already keeping a close eye on the teams’ preparations for the Malaysia Cup quarterfinals.
“It is all about integrity and we hope that the state FAs too will do their own monitoring.”
Hamidin said while there was no conclusive evidence that bribery was rampant in the M-League, that does not mean they are going to let their guard down as such measures will surely deter the “fixers”.
“We will have technical officers to monitor the performances of players, as this is something for trained eyes,” clarified Hamidin with regards to the role FAM will be playing.
“Players are expected to deliver their best on the pitch, and we need to keep an eye on their performances as there has been talk about players holding back. With the inclusion of these technical officials, we will be able to evaluate their performances.”
Four quarterfinal matches are scheduled for this weekend.
Pahang will host Selangor’s PKNS today at the Darulmakmur Stadium in Kuantan, while three matches will be played tomorrow when Johor Darul Takzim take on Kelantan at the Larkin Stadium, Lions XII square off against Armed Forces at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore and Sime Darby face Sarawak at the Selayang Stadium.
FAM’s integrity committee are set to meet at the Putrajaya Lake Club on Monday.
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