Malaysian football receives a second 'punishment'.

In addition to official penalties from the competent authorities, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also faces other consequences following the player naturalization scandal.

Malaysia faces a wave of 'boycotts' from sponsors - Photo: FAM

"FAM's main sponsor has backed out?" - the Malaysian newspaper Stadium Astro headlined an article published late on November 24th.

Malaysian media reports indicate that Bank Islam, a major sponsor of FAM, is considering "withdrawing" from its partnership with the governing body of Malaysian football.

Malaysian media discovered that the banking organization's logo had "disappeared" from the electronic advertising boards during the Asian Cup qualifying match between Malaysia and Nepal last week.

Furthermore, the bank's logo no longer appears on FAM's official website. And when contacted by the media, representatives from Bank Islam declined to comment.

Although not yet official, Malaysian media have concluded that FAM has just lost one of its biggest sponsors due to the player naturalization scandal.

This was predicted by experts in sports science and finance in Malaysia, after FAM seriously tarnished the image of the country's football.

Professor Sayf Ismail of the University of Malaya described the move as an initial attempt to protect the image and reputation of the sponsors.

"Bank Islam is a publicly listed company (PLC), listed on the Bursa Stock Exchange (Malaysia). They are committed to society; they must act for the good."

The company's code of ethics must reject all forms of fraud, especially fraud involving FAM. FAM has been found guilty by FIFA, and this scandal has become all too clear.

As a PLC company, of course they think their brand is at risk of being tarnished. Based on my experience, there is a clause that allows sponsors to withdraw in serious cases, basically when one of the parties is at fault," Stadium Astro quoted Professor Ismail as saying.

Islam Bank has a long-standing partnership with FAM, and the two parties recently renewed their agreement in the middle of this year, in a two-year financing deal.

FAM's finances are in serious jeopardy. A few days ago, Malaysia's Minister of Youth and Sports , Hannah Yeoh, announced that she would temporarily freeze the increased funding allocated to FAM following the naturalization scandal.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bong-da-malaysia-nhan-don-trung-phat-thu-2-20251124214145475.htm