The Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) decision to free the 78 footballers banned for life over the 1994-95 match-fixing scandal has divided opinion.
There are many who feel FAM made a wrong decision as the message it sends is that it is fine for footballers to cheat as it is only a matter of time before their punishment is lifted.
There is no denying that they have a point as Malaysian football continues to grapple with match-fixing despite the stiff punishment that was meted out in 1994-95.
M-League teams — Kuala Lumpur being one of them — have lost players to match-fixing in recent times and let us not forget that the President’s Cup, a junior level tournament, was also a victim not too long ago.
In fact, a major reason why Malaysian football is in the doldrums is because of what happened in 1994-95. Some of Malaysia’s finest players were among those banned, crippling the national team.
The next generation were not ready to step up but mediocre players were promoted to M-League teams and the result was one debacle after another for the national team, including a 1-0 defeat to Laos in the 1997 Sea Games in Jakarta.
Malaysia’s fortunes since then — that too only at the Southeast Asian level — have improved only slightly with gold medals in the 2009 and 2011 Sea Games sandwiching the Asean Cup title in 2010.
Match-fixing, however, continues to cloud the Malaysian game and critics of the decision to spare the banned 78 say these players are at fault for bringing the game to its knees.
The fact that the main players — the bookies who got the players to fix matches — were never caught is another source of concern as they could well still be out there. The fear, obviously, is that allowing those who worked with the bookies back into the game could reopen the match-fixing floodgates.
Those in support of the decision, however, vehemently protest that the players have served their punishment.
The players have, their supporters argue, spent the last 20 years in football wilderness and not only did they lose their careers but also their respect.
Fans who used to chant their names in adulation looked at them with disgust when they were banned and FAM, in “freeing” them last week, only reopened old wounds.
Only a handful of those banned are still keen on getting involved in the game but FAM’s decision has put all of them in the spotlight again.
Their names were plastered on television screens and newspapers and some of the former players have said this has been akin to being punished again.
To be honest, FAM’s decision is not going to result in any winners.
Those who do return to the game will forever have the stigma of having been match-fixers while those who don’t now have to live through those dark days again.
It will be tough for those who do return as they will always be looked at with suspicion but as sickening as their match-fixing was, a second chance is their right.
Those who remember the 1982 World Cup will recall a certain Italian player called Paolo Rossi.
Banned for three years in 1980 for a betting scandal — for which he always claimed innocence — Rossi’s punishment was subsequently reduced to two years.
He returned to action at the tail-end of the 1981-82 season for Juventus and was included in Italy’s squad for the 1982 World Cup.
A poor first round seemed to indicate that including him had been a shockingly poor decision but Rossi burst into life in the knockout stages, scored six goals and Italy won the World Cup.
The banned 78 — those who choose to return to the game that is — are not going to win the World Cup for Malaysia, but just like Rossi got a second chance, so should they.
They believe they can contribute to the game and hopefully, they do.
Malaysian football needs all the help it can get and if these former players — even though they were match-fixers — can help at the grassroots, it should be welcomed with open arms.
The former players want to right the wrongs they committed and as much as they have divided opinion, we have to give them a chance and also believe they will not get entangled in match-fixing again.
Vijesh Rai is a 1987 Sea Games taekwondo silver medallist, ardent Arsenal fan and NST Sports Editor