100-year-old former Prime Minister of Malaysia strongly criticized the country's football industry.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) officials have received a heavy blow to their reputation, when the legendary national leader, Mr. Mahathir Mohamad, recently spoke out strongly criticizing the country's football.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad - Photo: AH

At the age of 100, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is still remembered by Malaysians as a legendary leader, associated with the country's economic rise in the 1990s and 2000s.

Mahathir Mohamad rarely gives his opinion on sports , but in the recent scandal in Malaysian football, the 100-year-old former Prime Minister has spoken out strongly.

Mahathir Mohamad's latest remarks were made during a podcast interview with Sinar Daily , and were posted in full on his official social media accounts.

"The real place of birth of these players is Argentina, but they wrote Penang. This is a lie, and a deliberate lie," Mr. Mahathir Mohamad opened.

Next, the former Malaysian Prime Minister said: "There are people who have done nothing wrong, but can still be investigated, while those who have done wrong are exempted.

So there are people so powerful that they can do wrong things and still get away with it. Or at least that's what the Vietnamese have shown us."

Mr. Mahathir Mohamad suddenly mentioned Vietnam in the interview, but did not elaborate. He could have meant the match in which Malaysia won against Vietnam by cheating, or as the Malaysian media reported - that Vietnam had filed a complaint to FIFA.

Mr. Mahathir called the act of falsifying documents to naturalize players "shameful," and the Malaysian team's victory in the Asian Cup qualifiers "fraud."

"It is shameful that non-Malaysian players are representing Malaysia. While we are hungry to win, we need to do it the right way - not by cheating or faking," said Mr Mahathir.

For much of the interview, Mr. Mahathir reserved criticism for “individuals who have so much power, so much influence, that they believe they can get away with it.”

It can be said that the statements of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad are the heaviest blow to the defense efforts of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Over the past few days, many famous figures in the Malaysian sports community, from former players, former officials to sports critics, have spoken out against FAM, saying that the agency should not "prolong the shame by appealing".

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuu-thu-tuong-100-tuoi-cua-malaysia-chi-trich-du-doi-nen-bong-da-nuoc-nha-20251010194456473.htm