FAM-FIFA scandal caused by powerful person who is ‘above the law’, says Dr M

PETALING JAYA: A powerful person, who operates “above the law” is behind the alleged fabrication of documents in Malaysia’s process of registering their mixed-heritage football players, claims Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The former prime minister said this during Sinar Daily’s Top News Podcast on Thursday (Oct 9), when he expressed his embarrassment over the incident that saw seven foreign players being naturalised under questionable circumstances to represent the national team.

“The real birthplace was in Argentina, but they have written in Penang. ‘They were born in Penang’, which is a lie,” Dr Mahathir said, highlighting what he called a “deliberate attempt to cheat” internationally.

The former statesman claimed further that certain individuals can be so powerful that they can escape being accountable to any wrongdoing.

He pointed to what he claimed was a pattern of selective enforcement, adding that some people who have “done no wrong may be subjected to investigation, while those who have done wrong were exempted”.

“So somebody is so powerful that they can actually do wrong things and get away with it. Or at least that’s what the Vietnamese have pointed out,” he said.

The forged document scandal came to light after FIFA found discrepancies in Malaysia’s documentation and issued the fines last month, which was the result of a complaint lodged after their game against Vietnam in June.

“When internationally also you are prepared to tell lies, to fabricate things… to give all kinds of information that is wrong, then it can only be done by somebody with power, somebody who has very strong influence.

“And because of that influence, [he] believe that [he] can get away with it, and this is what he did… but we cannot identify who,” he said.

When asked if this could be construed as an act of sabotage against Malaysia, Dr Mahathir dismissed the notion.

“No, he’s not a sabotage to Malaysia. It is somebody who thinks that he can get away with doing wrong things because he’s above the law,” he said, questioning the lengths one would do to win matches.

Referring to Malaysians of authority, Dr Mahathir said “we want to win elections, we want to win football games, but let it be done properly. Don’t cheat”.

He said it was shameful that foreign players represented Malaysia, which then led to the global controversy.