PETALING JAYA, March 11 — Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has accused certain individuals within the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) of attempting to use him as a scapegoat, alleging their dissatisfaction stems from being unable to profit through him.

“Some people within FAM have been dissatisfied with me for a long time because they cannot make money through me,” he said on his social media pages.

“Some came asking for my help to secure projects, while others asked for assistance to avoid being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), among other matters.”

The regent added that discontent grew after the federal government, under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, channelled funding to the national team, with certain parties unhappy at being excluded from managing the resources.

“Many were disappointed when the government provided funding for the national team because they were not involved,” he said, adding that there were moves to undermine his position.

Addressing the ongoing FIFA case, Tunku Ismail clarified that the matter involved alleged document forgery rather than citizenship eligibility.

“This is a case of forgery and document submission, not citizenship eligibility,” he said.

He also questioned why proper documentation from the National Registration Department (JPN) was not submitted, suggesting the player was blamed while insiders were protected.

“Who made the wrong submission? The agent — and who else within FAM? Why wasn’t a legitimate document from the National Registration Department submitted? Because they wanted to protect ‘insiders’, the player was blamed,” he said. 

During proceedings at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), he noted, FIFA could not provide evidence linking the players to the alleged wrongdoing.

“During the CAS hearing, FIFA could not even answer when asked for evidence of the players’ involvement or complicity,” he said.

Tunku Ismail highlighted a precedent involving a female player who admitted forgery and received only a 10-match suspension for the national team while remaining eligible to play for her club. “

The insiders should be held responsible. Do not wash your hands of this and use supporters and the media to make me the scapegoat,” he said.

He also raised concerns over administrative interference in the national team, citing complaints from head coach Peter Cklamovski, who observed that some individuals within FAM did not want the team to succeed.

“In the first week itself, he told me: ‘I can feel that some of these people don’t want us here,’” Tunku Ismail said.

He added that he advised the coach to focus on football and avoid internal politics.