Football in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

was rocked by a bribery and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

scandal in 1994. At that time, more than 100 players and coaches suspected of fixing the results of

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual association football, football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popular ...

and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

matches were detained by the authorities for interrogation. As a result, 58 of them were banned for one to four years by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). A total of 21 players and coaches were fired while several players were banned for life and not allowed to participate in FAM-organised competitions. Many Malaysian fans blamed the scandal in 1994 as a catalyst for the downfall of Malaysian football. In 2016, 22 years after the scandal, a ban on 84 players was lifted by the FAM.

References

Malaysia, 1994 Association football controversies

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

Scandals in Malaysia Corruption in Malaysia {{Malaysia-sport-stub