'Cekelat angin': PM's aide laments futile efforts to appeal 'heritage' players sanctions

 

The Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) decision to nullify Malaysia's victory in two Asian Cup qualifying matches yesterday has frustrated PKR Youth chief Kamil Abdul Munim, who vented his feelings on social media.

"Penyudahnya 'cekelat angin'," he said on X, which roughly translates to "We got nothing in the end."

The phrase “cekelat angin” is a phrase in a northern Malay dialect that refers to minty candies, where one would get practically nothing other than a cold sensation in the mouth, thus signifying a rather futile action or activity.

Kamil, who is an aide to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, posted the comment in response to a Malaysiakini report on AFC’s decision.

The AFC found that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had violated rules by fielding ineligible players in two 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers matches last year.

The matches were Malaysia vs Nepal at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor on March 25, which ended in a 2-0 win for Malaysia, and Malaysia vs Vietnam at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on June 10, which Malaysia won 4-0.

Following the finding, the AFC has slapped FAM with a fine of US$50,000 (RM196,119) and nullified Malaysia’s win in two qualifying matches.

"The AFC disciplinary and ethics committee has decided that Malaysia is declared to have lost with a 3-0 score for both matches, based on Article 25.1 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code," FAM said in a statement yesterday.

The decision automatically dashed Harimau Malaya’s hopes of vying for the championship in Saudi Arabia next year.

FAM woes

In December last year, the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) had overturned the results of three of the national squad’s Tier 1 international friendly matches played in May and September.

FAM was also hit with a 10,000 Swiss Francs (RM51,000) fine for breaching Article 19 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC) for fielding ineligible players for the three matches.

On Sept 26, Fifa confirmed that FAM and seven heritage players - Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel - were found guilty of violating Article 22 of the FDC related to document falsification.

Investigations revealed that FAM had submitted supposedly falsified citizenship documents to confirm the eligibility of the players. - Mkini