PETALING JAYA, Aug 16 — More doubts have been cast over the Malaysia-FC Barcelona match held last Saturday which could see Fifa’s intervention over the fiasco.
It remains unclear as to who gave the authorisation to bring the team to Kuala Lumpur.
Checks on Fifa’s website revealed only three registered match agents — Miroslav Bozik, E.R. Subramaniam and Abdul Razak Salam Salah — are based in Malaysia.
Apparently, BSC Soccer Malaysia Sdn Bhd were named “exclusive promoters” for the Spanish giant’s tour in Malaysia by the club. The letter was signed off by FC Barcelona marketing commercial-area director Laurent Colette.
BSC Soccer managing director Effendi Jagan is a Fifa registered player’s agent and not a match agent. His name is only registered with Fifa as a players agent.
According to Fifa’s regulations, a team must be brought into the country by a match agent while a player’s agent is responsible for the transfer of players between clubs. However, a foreign-based match agent is allowed to bring the team in.
Effendi, however, downplayed the role of the match-agent.
“Barcelona only needed a Malaysian company. So it’s ok,” said Effendi.
He confirmed event management company Fat Boys managed the event.
The match hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons after the venue was changed from the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil to the Shah Alam Stadium at the eleventh hour, causing much distress to the fans.
Some VIP ticket holders were not allowed to seat at their designated place while others claimed security personnel had demanded money from them.
There was segregation between the local and international journalists during the match. A Malaysian sports journalist claimed that he was harassed, shoved and challenged to ‘settle’ the matter outside the stadium.
This led to Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin saying the organisers could be “blacklisted and have their licence suspended” if they are found guilty of misconduct in handling the match (see accompanying story).
When told of Khairy’s comments, Effendi said: “We will take heed of his advice. He is the minister.”
“We have spoken with the Sports Commissioner (Ahmad Shapawi Ismail). I believe he will inform the minister once he has obtained all the information from us.
“But I am open to meeting the minister personally if he requires additional information,” Effendi added.
Ahmad Shapawi met Effendi and FA of Malaysia (FAM) general-secretary Datuk Hamidin Amin in Bukit Jalil at his office in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
“This matter is still being investigated. BSC Soccer will pass us all the required documents by tomorrow. We will have a clearer picture then,” said Ahmad Shapawi.
Hamidin also remained tight-lipped over the meeting. When asked who was the match-agent and how did FAM sanction the match if there was no match agent, Hamidin said: “Just give me a couple of days and I will be able to answer your queries.”
