Keep the lamp lit for Malaysian football despite dark episodes

IT WAS supposed to be an FA Cup semi-final to remember. Kuching City and Selangor are blessed with some of the nation’s best talents, and for long stretches the football delivered.

Kuching, buoyed by their home crowd, pushed hard, while Selangor had their chances and tried to hold the fort to protect their first-leg lead.

But the officiating soon became the talking point. Fans and pundits questioned a penalty call that felt harsh, along with several challenges that went unpunished.

Then came the fracas after Kuching scored the winner. A player was seen running towards Selangor coach Kim Pan-gon, and the two benches clashed.

Pan-gon called it unsportsmanlike while Kuching coach Aidil Sharin called it a Korean drama.

It was ugly, and where there is footage, it will go viral.

Social media is still abuzz, and some of it is toxic. Some coaches and players have said keyboard warriors do not understand the game, and some of the abuse has even been directed at players’ families.

Selangor, Kuching and the Malaysian Football League (MFL) have since submitted full reports to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), whose disciplinary committee will deliberate on what happened and decide on action.

Some have said the outcome will rest on subjectivity, but let us trust that the right decision will be made.

What cannot be left to subjectivity is fairness. This concerns not only Selangor but every team in the league. Fingers are being pointed, theories are swirling, and for some the frustration has become unbearable.

Yet that anger does not come from nowhere. Our football has long been riddled with issues, and the worry is born of that history.

Officiating has always been a talking point here, and in many instances the errors have been plain to see.

We call them out because a single moment can alter the course of a result. With the video assistant referee (VAR), clarity should be greater, yet murky waters remain.

On the international stage, the national team have their own concerns. Some have made an issue out of the player pullouts for the friendly matches against China and Yemen in Guangdong.

National interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe said the Johor Darul Ta’zim players were not called up because of their tight club schedule, while Selangor said theirs were struggling with injuries, leaving Quentin Cheng as their only player available.

There are those who say these are just friendlies, and no one should be too vexed.

But they carry ranking points, and we need them for a favourable draw in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. A better ranking would put us in a better pot.

National pride should also come first. Donning the national colours carries heavy pressure, but that is a joy to be savoured, not shunned.

Then, there is the issue concerning some fans, especially the Ultras (hardcore supporters), who have stayed away from the stands because of problems plaguing the game.

A major reason for it is last year’s naturalisation scandal involving seven players. The disdain lingers, and episodes like these only worsen it.

So I wish for the fans to return, especially the Ultras, and to make their voices heard in the stadiums.

They are a reminder that the fans make the game, whatever else is happening.

I also hope that officials and players can be more open, and understand that fairness, at its root, will soothe the game.

Deepavali has just passed, and every year it teaches the same lesson: the lamp is lit not because the dark has gone, but in spite of it.

Even as I munched murukku and devoured mutton curry, I was watching the FA Cup semi-finals.

That is how I feel about Malaysian football. The darkness is real and the issues are old, but the lamp is still being lit by the fans who turn up, the players who give everything, and those who still care enough.