Three Singaporean fin-swimming coaches face a prison sentence and a fine for falsifying documents that helped unqualified swimmers to participate at the Cambodia 2023 SEA Games. They were due to be charged in court over their suspected involvement in abatement by conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating. If found guilty, they can be fined and face up to 10 years in jail. And in neighbouring Malaysia, the authorities are on a different tangent, They are quickly avoiding any reasonable criminal investigation into the case of falsifying documents that illegally ensured seven foreign football players were given citizenship…

The hypocrisy of both the sports and political fraternity in handling recent politicization of sports is rather telling. Whether it is the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or FIFA; the United States or the Ukranian presidents; the European Union or the upset protesters; the selective outcry is telling. While sports is all about level playing field, the decisions by both the sports administrators and politicians are looking more and more about self-preservation. FIFA president Giovanni Infantino was seen wearing a MAGA style cap while attending the Board of Peace meeting, clearly a middle finger to FIFA’s own Code of Ethics. (more…)

The cost of mixing politics with sports can no longer be ignored. From FIFA awarding Donald Trump with an underserved Peace Award; to Indian cricketers refusing to shake the hands of rivals Pakistan; to Indonesia refusing to allow Israeli gymnasts to participate in the World Cup, the stigma of politics being attached to sports is undeniable. According to FIFA, the Peace Award was to reward individuals who had taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world. The blatant racism and mass deportation of migrants at home, actions against transgender athletes, threatening…