Malaysia’s embattled football association has been plunged deeper into crisis after the government suspended fresh funding over a document-forgery scandal that has embarrassed the football-mad nation.
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Football’s governing body, Fifa, has issued fines and player bans and launched criminal complaints after it found the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had cheated by faking documents of seven foreign-born players.
Two of the players scored in a victory over Vietnam in an Asian Cup qualifier in June.
As the scandal continues to engulf FAM, Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh on Thursday told parliament that the government would withhold all additional grants for FAM until it “manages this issue properly” to restore public confidence.
“This is an immediate step while we await the full investigation led by Tun Raus Sharif,” she told parliament, referring to the former chief justice who chairs an independent committee to investigate the documentation issue.
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“We will not provide any additional grants until FAM addresses this issue in a way that assures every allocation and every ringgit of public funds is fully accountable.”