Shocking: Journalist who denounced FAM for illegal immigration was attacked, Malaysian police urgently investigate

According to Malaysian media, journalist Haresh Deol - who criticized FAM and 7 illegally naturalized players - was suddenly attacked on the afternoon of November 25.

Journalist Haresh Deol has repeatedly criticized FAM.

Mr. Haresh Deol is one of the famous journalists of Malaysian sports , who used to work at the Malay Mail newspaper and is also the founder of TwentyTwo13 . Since June 2025, Mr. Haresh Deol has attracted great attention from Malaysian fans when he continuously spoke up, mentioning the background of Malaysian naturalized players. Not stopping there, in the press conference of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) held on October 17, Mr. Haresh Deol raised many questions about the naturalization papers of 7 players, leaving the officials of this agency unable to answer.

According to Metro , on the afternoon of November 25, while preparing to get into the car, Mr. Haresh Deol was suddenly attacked by two strange men. They continuously beat Mr. Haresh Deol and when they discovered the camera, they quickly fled the scene. Immediately after, journalist Haresh Deol reported the incident to the Malaysian police.

“The attack left Mr. Haresh Deol on the road, but what is more suspicious is that no personal belongings were taken, thus raising questions about the real motive of the incident. It is known that at the time of the incident, Mr. Haresh Deol was carrying a laptop, mobile phone, wallet, watch and car keys, but none of the items were touched by the attackers,” Metro reported.

"I would love to sit down and talk to my attackers. Maybe they are simply not happy with what I said or wrote," Haresh Deol told reporters at Brickfields police headquarters.

Journalist Haresh Deol was attacked on the afternoon of November 25.

PHOTO: CMH

The attack on journalist Haresh Deol immediately received great attention from the media as well as Malaysian fans. Suara TV channel commented surprisingly: “Most Malaysian football fans believe that the cause of this incident originated when Haresh Deol asked sensitive questions to FAM Vice President, Datuk S. Sivasundaram. During the FAM press conference last month, tensions rose when Haresh and some other journalists put pressure on FAM regarding 7 naturalized players suspended by FIFA for falsifying documents and backgrounds.

The controversy became heated when Datuk S. Sivasundaram admitted that he could not identify the person who sent the complaint to FIFA. Datuk S. Sivasundaram said that FAM only speculated that it was a Vietnamese individual, without any clear evidence. This factual confusion caused the press conference to go viral and was heavily criticized by domestic football fans.

Malaysian media fears reporters will be in danger while reporting on illegal immigration cases

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

Malaysian police asked to investigate immediately

Suara also said that today's attack on Haresh Deol has raised new concerns about the safety of journalists covering the citizenship case in Malaysia: "The attack on Faisal Halim is still fresh in the minds of the country's sports fans. But now, Haresh's courage in asking questions that were not accepted by some parties has caused this incident to happen. As of now, the details of Haresh's injuries have not been released. The police are expected to launch an investigation into the incident. FAM has yet to issue a statement on the attack or the press conference video that is circulating on social media."

On the evening of November 25, President of the Sports Journalists Association of Malaysia (SAM) Ismadi Abdul Manap condemned the attack on sports journalist Haresh Deol. At the same time, Mr. Ismadi Abdul Manap said that SAM considered the incident extremely serious and requested the Malaysian police to investigate immediately.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/soc-nha-bao-tung-to-cao-fam-vu-nhap-tich-lau-bi-tan-cong-canh-sat-malaysia-dieu-tra-khan-cap-185251125211134674.htm