Who let the suspended man in

Free Malaysia Today

FAM’s defence of its grounded general secretary’s appearance at a Fifa event may explain the photo, but not the deeper contradiction.  Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2025/10/30/who-let-the-suspended-man-in  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews

Transcript

00:00FAM has finally broken its silence over suspended General Secretary Noor Azman Rahman's appearance

00:07at a FIFA event, but its explanation raises more questions than answers.

00:12In a statement, FAM said the photo of Noor Azman with FIFA President Gianni Infantino

00:18and FAM Honorary President Hamidin Amin was taken outside any official event.

00:24It also claimed Noor Azman was there only in a personal capacity.

00:28It may sound tidy on paper, but it avoids the real issue.

00:32Why was a suspended official anywhere near the FIFA President during a high-profile ceremony

00:37witnessed by the Prime Minister?

00:40Noor Azman was suspended with immediate effect only nine days earlier as the National Football

00:45Association opened an investigation into the falsification of player documents, which saw

00:50FIFA slap FAM with a RM1.8 million fine and ban seven players.

00:56Yet on October 26, Noor Azman was seen entering the plenary hall at Kuala Lumpur Convention

01:01Center for the ASEAN FIFA memorandum signing, a closed-door event with police screening guests

01:07and media passes tightly controlled.

01:09He was also seated in the second row among other officials.

01:13So if he attended privately, how did he get clearance?

01:17And why didn't FAM officials act to prevent an obvious breach of optics?

01:21His presence was also captured in a video published by Infantino on Instagram.

01:26FAM insists it wasn't an official encounter, but the optics overpower its disclaimers.

01:32A suspension is meant to preserve integrity and public confidence.

01:36Poor enforcement and selective discipline only betrays public trust.

01:40Ironically, at that same ceremony, Infantino spoke about strengthening integrity in ASEAN

01:45football.

01:46The scene in Kuala Lumpur, unfortunately, told a different story.

01:50FAM hopes this explanation will clear confusion, but there is no confusion, only contradiction.

01:57For the full story, read Frankie DeCruza's column, Who Let The Suspended Man In, only on FMT.

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