‘I’m no Superman’

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Penang youth and Police player, Osman Bakar, is the man who will lead the nation’s fight against matchfixing. He will head the newly-formed Coordination and Integrity Unit set up by the FA of Malaysia (FAM).

Osman was approached by FAM’s Vetting, Monitoring and Transparency committee chairman Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat for the fulltime job to tackle the menace which has apparently become widespread again.

A former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Osman played a role in investigating the 1993-1994 football bribery fiasco that saw more than 100 players and officials banned from the sport.

Osman is expected to sort out the details of his contract at Wisma FAM today.

“Yes, I have been approached and I’ve accepted the offer,” said Osman.

“I told them (FAM) I was willing to help. But to be frank, I’ve been out of touch and will need some time to study the whole situation and to get to know the players and teams well.

“I’m not Superman. I can’t be doing this alone. Hopefully, I will get the assistance from those who are on the same page — that is to save our football.”

FAM, had on Monday, announced a former senior cop with experience in football was approached for the job. A few prominent names came to mind, notably Tan Sri Zaman Khan, Datuk Dell Akhbar Khan, Bawandi Hiralal, Rahim Abdullah and Takbir Ahmad.

The FAM Disciplinary Board had on Nov 30 last year suspended 11 Negri Sembilan President’s Cup players for between one and five years while their former coach Yusarman Yusoff was slapped with a life ban for matchfixing.

Mailsport, had on Monday, revealed the DB were investigating another 31 President’s Cup players and officials from MP Muar, T-Team and Penang SDM Navy for alleged involvement with bookies. They are temporarily suspended, pending the outcome of the investigation.

FAM also announced three “senior” teams were believed to be involved in matchfixing and have now joined forces with the Immigration Department, in addition to their collaboration with the Police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.