KUALA LUMPUR: A Negri Sembilan President's Cup coach has been banned for life and 18 players have been suspended for two to five years by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) for fixing matches in the national Under-20 tournament last year.

FAM is expected to name the coach and players on Wednesday.

“We have said we would come down hard on match-fixing and this proves that FAM is serious about tackling the scourge,” FAM deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said here yesterday.

“I hope the punishment meted out will serve as a lesson to all football players and officials in the country. I hope that match-fixing will not rear its ugly head in Malaysian football again.”

This is the second major crackdown on match-fixing in the country after more than 150 footballers were banned or banished for being involved in the infamous scandal that robbed the country of a generation of talented footballers in 1994.

The bribery scandal also resurfaced in the Malaysian Super League (MSL) recently, barely a month into the new season.

There were strong allegations of match-fixing in the opening Premier League tie between Muar Municipal Council and Perlis at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Muar on Jan 9.

The bizarre high-scoring game ended with the club side thrashing former Malaysia Cup winners Perlis 7-2.

Perlis Football Association (PFA) president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim conducted his own investigation and some of his players admitted to being approached by the bookies.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is investigating the case.

World football governing body FIFA is aware that Malaysia is one of the hubs of match-fixing globally.

FIFA head of security Chris Eaton told FAM in January last year that several Malaysians were involved in match-fixing scandals in Germany, Finland and Singapore and that investigations pointed to a significant KL bookie connection.

FAM had stepped up its efforts to eradicate the menace when it set up a vetting, monitoring and transparency committee last year.

Tengku Abdullah said the police and the MACC would play a more prominent role in the independent committee, which is headed by Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.

“From now on, all the players' names will be submitted to Tan Sri Aseh's committee for a background check ... including the national trainees,” said Tengku Abdullah.

“If the players and officials are found to have been involved in any wrongdoing, their playing licence will be revoked immediately and action will be taken against them.”

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