Friday, February 28, 2014

UNIKL STRUGGLE


UniKL Young Guns were stretched to the limit before carving out a crucial 3-2 win over Politeknik KPM in the first leg quarterfinal match of the Milo Cup at the National Hockey Stadium at Bukit Jalil.
In was another poor performance by the title pretenders whose chief coach Arul Selvaraj being embroiled in a player pinching controversy. (read www.jugjet.blogspot.com).
Read more at www.mjhl.com.my

THUNDERBOLTS CRUISE AS OLAK STUN MHS



Olak-PKT and SSTMI Thunderbolts have one foot in the semis finals of the Milo Cup after convincing wins over their opponents in the first leg quarterfinals at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Olak-PKT caused a major upset by sending Malacca High School to a shock 4-1 defeat while Thunderbolts who won the Division One title showed their class by hammering MS Pahang Juniors 8-0.

www.mjhl.com.my

GREAT RESPONSE FOR WOMEN'S HOCKEY LEAGUE

The new season of TNBMHL will see 10 teams in the revamped Division One with nine teams signing up for the inaugural women's hockey league.

Read: www.tnbmhl.com.my

Thursday, February 27, 2014

AS DRUNK STILL IN SLUMBER

Hockey Australia has today announced the 18-athlete Kookaburras squad that will compete at next month’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. The announcement came on the same day that the 2014 men's national senior

Read more...www.azlanshahcup.com

Sunday, February 23, 2014

PAKISTAN OUT, REDUCED TO B GRADE EVENT





The 23rd edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is fast becoming a sham no thanks to poor planning by the Organising Committee.

The latest low came about when Pakistan withdrew from the seven team event by notifying the Malaysian Hockey Confederation who kept the news to themselves until NewStraits Times journalist Jugjet Singh managed to get the official word from the national body late Saturday.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Match-fixing fears as Malaysian team joins Queensland football league


CAMERON ATFIELD February 16, 2014

2014 Harimau Muda A players

2014 Harimau Muda A players Photo: Supplied (Facebook)

One of the world's foremost authorities on football match fixing has warned the inclusion of a Malaysian side in the upcoming National Premier Leagues Queensland could expose the competition to the influence of Asian betting syndicates.

But Football Queensland has dismissed the possibility, saying it was a "long bow" to draw.

Harimau Muda A, the Malaysian under-22 side, will play for competition points in the 14-team NPL Queensland competition from next month.

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However, the side will be ineligible to make the finals and will instead use the competition as preparation for Asian international competitions.

International match fixing expert Declan Hill, the author of The Fix and The Insider's Guide to Match Fixing, told Fairfax Media that situation left the NPL Queensland more open to corruption.

While not suggesting Harimau Muda A was involved in match fixing, Mr Hill said playing for points but being ineligible for finals football could further expose the NPL Queensland to the influence of Asian betting syndicates.

"If you have a team in your league, they should be able to win it, otherwise you've got to wonder what it is they're playing for," he said.

"You have these guys saying 'what does it matter?'. It should be a case of if they win it, then great, let them win it - everyone else can lift their games next season.

"I can't understand why a league administrator would have a team play on these terms."

The concerns were not without precedent.

When Harimau Muda A played in Singapore's S-League in 2012, then-Geylang United goalkeeper Yazid Yasin said he was approached to throw a game against them.

There is no suggestion the Football Association of Malaysia or the Harimau Muda A players have been involved in any such activity.

Football Queensland chief operations officer Ben Mannion, the head of NPL Queensland, said the suggestion the competition could be compromised was in "poor taste" and not fair on the Malaysians or the NPL. 

"We've gone through the right channels with the (Football Federation of Australia), the (Asian Football Confederation) and also FIFA, who are across it, and we've got Sportradar that we work with at the FFA level, which is an internationally renowned agency to monitor sports betting and stop match fixing," he said.

"We write to those departments within 48 hours of every match, with all the official things that happened within the game, so that they can register any abnormal betting trends and report back to the FFA and back to us."

Queensland is no stranger to football match fixing. Last year, Brisbane Premier League club Albany Creek Excelsior was caught up in a match fixing scandal that saw 10 people arrested in Victoria.

"Obviously, with what happened in Melbourne previously, they're well and truly across what needs to happen to make sure that sort of thing doesn't happen again," Mr Mannion said.

Mr Hill said Australian football betting markets were more popular in Asia than the English Premier League, due to a similar time zone.

"I think these are absolutely bona fide concerns. If you had a blindfold on somebody and put a pin into a map, Malaysia and Singapore and number one and number two when it comes to match fixing," he said.

"By the time a player reaches 20 years of age, they've been exposed to this stuff."

Harimau Muda A's inclusion is expected to attract unprecedented interest from Malaysia.

Former Far North Queensland Heat NPL coach Joe Fenech, now director of coaching in central Queensland and involved in a bid for a Gladstone-based NPL side, said he could not discount the possibility of betting syndicates trying to influence NPL Queensland matches. 

"The involvement of a Malaysian team is clearly going to generate interest in Malaysia, who would be following the NPL a lot closer because of that involvement and it goes without saying that people will have a flutter," he said.

Mr Fenech, who stressed he was speaking in his capacity as a supporter and not as a Football Queensland employee, said a "win-win" situation would have been to have a 13-team NPL Queensland with teams playing Harimau Muda A on bye weeks.

But Mr Mannion said the NPL clubs would play for points to ensure they fielded their strongest sides.

"If it was for no points, the clubs would rest their senior players and they would play under-18s and under-20s against the Malaysians, which is not what we're looking for," he said.

The NPL is a national second tier competition aimed to be a pathway to the A-League and features several ex-National Soccer League clubs, including former champions Brisbane Strikers, Sydney United and South Melbourne.

Thursday, February 06, 2014

LIST. OF THOSE CONFIRMED FOR REVINGTONS FAREWELL

The following have confirmed their attendance at the Hi Tea Farewell Function for former national coach Paul Revington.

Please be at Olyic Hotel before 3pm this Saturday Feb 8, and please pay at the door for those who have yet to do so.

The list is officially closed as of 10pm Thursday Feb 6,

Dato Naim Mohamad MNCF Deputy President MNCF
Dato G. Vijaynathan Ex MHF Secretary
Dato Sieh Kok Chi - OCM Secretary
Dato Ow Soon Kooi - Penang HA President
Prof S Shamala - MHC Senior Vice President
M. Gobinathan - MHC Vice President
Satish Kumar - Kedah HA President
Mirnawan Nawawi - Former International
Farah Hashim -  MHC Asst Secretary
Jiwa Mohan - Nat Women Asst Coach
Ernawati - Nat Women Asst Coach
Chitra Devi - Nat Women Team Manager
Mohd Nasihin Nubli - Nat Women Team Coach
Mrs Subramanian - Hockey Fan
P. Kuganeson - SHA Secretary
Gurdip S Mann - Merican Hockey
K. Ananthavalr - Selangor HA
P. Balamuraly - Selangor HA
S.Selvakumaran - Selangor HA
Surjit Singh- Selangor HA
Alam Shah - Selangor HA
Shaiful Nizam - Selangor HA
Bala - Selangor HA
T.Paramalingam - Former MHF Secretary 
Malarwani - Former International
Ramaguru - The Star
Aftar Singh - The Star
Allan Netto - Grays
Jugjet Singh - NST
Zazali Jamian - Utusan
Nor Bazly Azmi - Astro Arena
K. Rajan - Former International
Zafrul Mokhtar - Astro Arena
Kuhan S - Former International
Rubini A - Hockey Fan
Satwant Singh
Masidayu Mazlan - Hockey Fan
Asan Ahmad - Sports Editor Kosmo
Hashim Mohd Yusof - Former MHF Secretary/MHC Competitions Exec
Tony Maridass - Sports Editor Malay Mail
Vijay Vick - Malay Mail
Azri Haidar - Team Malaysia FC
Mirza Afiq - Team Malaysia FC
Ramanieswaran - Former Int Umpire
M.Kaliswaran - Former International
C. Paramalingam - Former Nat Coach
Jusvir Singh - NSHA Asst Secretary
Saipul - TV 3 Sports
Lee Hui Seng - Chairman FAMEMAS
TV 3 Crew
TV 3 Crew
S.Chandran -NS Coach 
Zuhaily - Kosmo Sports 
Hilmie Hussain - HMetro Malacca
Nur Fatin Elissa - Hockey Fan
Mohd Faez Daud - Hockey Fan
I. Vikneswaran - Former International

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

REVINGTONS FAREWELL

Having had several requests, and with the consent of Paul Revington, a get together to bid farewell to Revington and at the same time pay tribute to his contribution to Malaysia Hockey, a Hi-Tea will be held as follows:

Date: 8th February 2014
Time: 3pm
Venue: Olympic Hotel, Jalan Hang Jebat
Cost: RM20.00 per pax

All thise who want to attend can email me by Wednesday, 5th February and places are limited. Each person attending needs to contribute towards the event and even members of the Media have committed towards paying their contribution.

Let's give Revington a memorable afternoon.

TRANSPARENT INVESTIGATION SAYS FAM



 The Football Association of Malaysia were reminded to conduct a transparent investigation with regards to the fracas that occurred in the abandoned FA Cup match between Johor Darul Takzim and Terengganu t-Team last Saturday.

And the reminder came from the head honcho of FAM, Sultan Ahmad Shah who is the president of FAM on Tuesday morning.

FAM Secretary General Dato Hamidin Mohd Amin had an audience with the Sultan to brief him on the Larkin incident as well as the Disciplinary Board findings against alleged bribery of the Kuala Lumpur team.

“Tuanku reminded FAM to conduct investigations based on the regulations governing the sport as adopted by FAM,” said Hamidon.

“He reminded us not to show fear or favour to any party and conduct any investigation required within our purview to get to the truth of the matter.

“Tuanku also viewed the bribery allegations with concern and asked that no stone be left unturned in order to get to the bottom of the matter.”

Hamidin said that he has held discussions with the Chairman of the Competitions Committee Dato Apandi Hamzah as well as the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee Dato Taufik Abdul Razak.

The Competitions Committee will meet on Thursday morning to go through the various reports submitted.

“We have received reports from the two teams, the match commissioner, the general coordinator as well as the match officials,” said Hamidin.

“We intend to call all parties to the meeting and hear their side of the story besides reviewing video footage that is provided to FAM.

“We have to areas that we need to look at. Firstly to decide on the outcome of the match, whether to award it to any of the teams or order a reply.

“Next is the question of the incident in the tunnel which has received a lot of publicity and I am told that police reports were also lodged.

“We will leave it to the police to look into the alleged incidents as we are only confoning ourselves to footballing matters as well as incidents that come under our purview with regards to the rules and regulations governing the M-League.”

Hamidin added that if there were any party that were found guilty of contravening the regulations, they will then be referred to the Disciplinary Board.

“Thus I do hope that all speculations be stopped and let the relevant committees so their job in accordance with the set regulations,” added Hamidin.