Tunku Ismail takes FAM to task

"I am doing this (criticising FAM) only because I love football. Those holding office in the FAM must be sincere and fair to all teams playing in the local league.

"Their priority must be to improve the quality of football in the country," said Tunku Ismail in a statement today.

Tunku Ismail said he had issued the statement related to football in his capacity as the Tunku Mahkota of Johor and not as the President of the Johor Football Association who was suspended by the FAM.

"Yesterday, the Johor FA received a letter from the FAM to warn the Johor FA against criticising the FAM through the media. This statement is not to blame any individual but to highlight pertinent issues in the local football scene. If the FAM deems fit to fine me, I accept.

"There were suggestions for me to contest posts in the FAM but I wish to stress that I have no interest or intention to take up any post in the FAM. My priority is Johor, as such I am not qualified for any posts in the FAM," he said.

Tunku Ismail in the statement also questioned FAM's action against the Pahang Football Association for the overcrowding debacle at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan during the FA Cup second leg semifinal.

"All these while it was the FAM's Disciplinary Committee that meted out punishment but in the case of the abandoned Pahang-Johor Darul Takzim match due to crowd trouble, it was the local competitions committee.

"We (Johor) were not given any opportunity to appeal the fine imposed. To me the issue of money is not the question here but the way state associations are being treated. This shows that the FAM can make a decision and then make changes to their own whims and fancy," said Tunku Ismail.

On May 29, the FAM Competitions Committee chairman Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin announced that Pahang as the home team would be fined RM100,000 for four offences while Johor Darul Takzim was fined RM20,000 for two offences.