Friday, April 25, 2008

A another version

Six detained by ACA, more to be hauled upBy : Christopher Raj, Dennis Wong and Alang Bendahara

KUCHING: At least five players from the Sarawak football team and an ex-national player were detained yesterday while several others from Malaysian Super League (MSL) teams are under investigation in a second wave of operations against match-fixing.
The six were picked up by Anti-Corruption Agency officers yesterday evening and were believed to be held overnight at a police lock-up.Investigations are now focused on the Sarawak and Police football association teams.Sources disclose that the ACA is investigating if the ex-national player is a runner for a bookie.Earlier yesterday, Sarawak ACA director Mohamad Yusof Akope confirmed that several players have had their statements recorded with more expected to be hauled up soon.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Ismail Omar also confirmed that at least nine players from the Police FA were being investigated. Ismail, who is also Police FA president, declined to elaborate, but it is learnt that he ordered the investigations.Police have conducted their internal inquiry and have expanded their investigations to the bookies with whom the players are allegedly involved. The last time an operation of such scale was conducted was 14 years ago when 21 players and coaches were banished, and 58 players were suspended for between one and four years by the FA of Malaysia (FAM). Malaysian football never recovered from that debacle.Sarawak FA (FAS) secretary Muhammad Maluddin confirmed that several players had been suspended following an internal inquiry."We conducted a domestic inquiry and have lodged a report with the ACA."Sarawak coach Kunju Jamaluddin admitted that two players had been suspended, adding that "they were punished for indiscipline".The grapevine here has been abuzz with allegations of match-fixing following the state's poor form in the MSL.Stuck at the bottom of the 13-team league, Sarawak is facing relegation to the Premier League next season.The FAS lodged a report with the ACA in February without informing the FAM. FAM general secretary Lt Gen (R) Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad said: "I am surprised that we were not informed. I have, however, forwarded newspaper reports over the last few days on alleged match-fixing to the police, ACA and Sarawak FA. I have also given the Sarawak FA an April 29 deadline for an explanation."Suspicions arose following Sarawak's pattern of heavy defeats.It started with a 4-1 loss to Perak, the team's seventh match of the season. Then, it went down 4-0 to Penang, Johor, Negri Sembilan and UPB-MyTeam. The 4-0 scorelines raised eyebrows.The police team is also in the relegation zone. It, however, shocked champions Kedah in its last match, winning 2-1, but that was only its fifth win in 22 matches. Police, last year's Premier League champions, have so far lost 14 matches.While it is no excuse for match-fixing, a FAS source said internal bickering and management problems were at the root of the problem in the Sarawak team."Delayed salaries is another contributing factor." Another source said bookies saw the current friction between FAS and the players as an opportunity to move in.The problem of match-fixing came to light recently when one player lodged a report at the Gita police station.He alleged that several seniors were in possession of large amounts of money on match days.

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