Lions rise, Harimau Malaya wobble – two tales of Asian Cup fortunes

OUR southern neighbours Singapore are celebrating. After a 41-year-wait, they are back in the Asian Cup Finals.

Their football team stunned Hong Kong 2-1 at the Kai Tak Stadium in front of 40,000 fans to re-enter the continent’s top competition in Riyadh for the first time since 1984.

It was a massive achievement for the Lions, but the post-match glow did not last long.

Their Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, David Neo, landed himself in hot water for calling Hong Kong’s players and fans “idiots” during a dressing-room celebration.

According to an Instagram clip posted by one of the players and reported by AFP, David told the team: “You were pressured by them, all the fans were bloody idiots ... the players also played like idiots, but you all played like lions.”

He has since apologised, saying he regretted the remarks. But Singapore rejoiced nonetheless.

In Malaysia, the atmosphere could not be more different.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh finds herself on the opposite end of the national pride spectrum.

She seems to the be the only one saying and doing all the right things in the face of what is arguably the biggest scandal Malaysian sport has ever seen – but there is only so much she can do.

Unlike our Lion City neighbours, Harimau Malaya’s qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup hangs by a thread.

FIFA have banned seven mixed-heritage players for a year and slapped FAM with a RM1.8mil fine over forged documentation.

FAM’s appeal failed spectacularly with FIFA hitting back with a 63-page report outlining why they were convinced the documents were doctored.

FAM will now take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but the chances don’t look very bright.

The government, meanwhile, cannot interfere or Malaysia risk facing even harsher sanctions from FIFA, including a full suspension from football activities.

On Thursday, Hannah announced several stop-gap measures in Parliament, beginning with the freezing of all government funding to FAM temporarily – until they get their house in order.

In recent times, the national body had received RM35mil in grants for various programmes, including the national and junior teams.

She also made it clear that FAM cannot use government funds to pay for the CAS battle – a strong signal that Putrajaya will not clean up this mess for them.

If anything good came of this fiasco, it’s that all naturalisation and citizenship matters for foreign players must now go through the National Sports Council (NSC).

An independent committee led by former Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif has also been tasked with identifying the culprits behind what has become an embarrassing stain on Malaysian sport.

These are necessary steps to restore integrity, but what lies ahead for Malaysian football is bleak and complicated.

All eyes are now on FAM and CAS.

The pressure on the national body is immense.

FAM and their legal team must present compelling explanations and evidence to justify the naturalisation of the seven players.

That will not be easy when the players themselves have cast doubt on the process.

In FIFA’s report, the appeal committee noted that during hearing:

the players admitted they had “not read the documents they signed.”

had “not checked the documents sent to their agents or FAM.”

had “not asked questions about the naturalisation process.”

insisted their grandparents were Malaysians despite evidence proving otherwise.

and relied on “blind trust in individuals with whom they had little familiarity.”

So the question remains – are these players innocent or merely playing innocent?

We will get the answer at CAS, most likely in early January.

If CAS rules in Malaysia’s favour, the storm briefly clears and football carries on.

But if CAS upholds FIFA’s decision, the fallout will be severe.

FAM could face multiple layers of sanction – from FIFA for challenging their ruling, from the AFC, from the Sports Commissioner, and even criminal investigations at home.

The local league could descend into disarray. Should that happen, the honourable path for FAM is to rebuild from ground zero under new leadership - one committed to competing with respect and transparency.

After all, respect is earned on a fair playing field – not through cheating.

To do otherwise would be, quite literally, idiotic.