THE Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has never held the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) in particularly high regard, even though the local body was one of the founder members of the regional authority. Privately, the AFC's secretary-general, Peter Velappan, has been known to mutter about abject lack of progress on coaching at youth and senior level and lack of support for regional tournaments, among other perceived ills of the game's local rulers at Ho Man Tin. It would not be too difficult to imagine that Velappan acted with some relish when sending a fax to the HKFA demanding an immediate probe into rather wide-ranging allegations of match-fixing, poor refereeing and gambling on football. But the AFC were also at pains to point out that they required these allegations to be substantiated by those making them - most notably Hong Kong's premier club, South China, and their talkative boss, Albert Hung Cho-hong.
Nothing comes cheaper than wild talk and it is worth pondering how such talk is used to cover up other deficiencies. South China's threat to quit the First Division - and the odds of them actually doing so would be equal to winning the Mark Six - came in the wake of their defeat by Sing Tao which saw their league hopes vanish. The referee was surrounded in his dressing room and, apparently, verbally abused. If he sticks to his guns and reports the incident as it is said to have happened, then a couple of South China officials will rightly be in trouble. Hong Kong referees are like most referees anywhere - some good, some indifferent and probably too many of them worse than that. But, from the highest leagues to the lowest, most players and managers will say the same thing: they are not deliberately against any one team and the contentious decisions will even themselves out.
South China had no particular reason to gripe. I saw the game and it was definitely a marginal decision for the goal. But South China had sown the seeds for their own downfall by some shoddy approach work and by having a player sent off. Rather than slagging off the referee, South China might ponder their own shortcomings and address them for the new season - assuming, of course, that they oblige us with their presence in the First Division. Hung was quick to criticise the HKFA for their overall administration and that does strike a chord with anyone who has watched the antics from Fat Kwong Street over the years. But just what is the composition of the HKFA? They do have some very capable paid staff but decisions are handed down by unpaid councillors who come from senior and junior clubs. South China, who are now venting their spleen on the controlling body of the game here, are part of that administration. So, too, are Frankwell and Golden, two other senior clubs who have threatened a boycott next season.
If South China and Hung are so disenchanted with the HKFA could they not seek to change matters from within? Of course, nothing has been done on these lines. It is certainly not that the HKFA is not in need of radical changes nor of people in charge who are fully capable of running what is now a very major sporting body. What is questioned here are the immediate motives behind those from South China who are currently lambasting them. But the HKFA must fully probe the allegations - as the AFC have requested or required them to do. And that means getting very definite statements from those South China officials who have stated that there is match-fixing and gambling in soccer here. From my own previous knowledge of Hong Kong football, I do not hesitate to state that matches have been fixed. But this was done, primarily, since the introduction of professional football a quarter of a century ago, to help a team or teams in relegation trouble.
Some teams were more 'friendly' than others and, in the hour of dire need, a point or even two might be arranged. In the long-gone days of shamateurism, there was indeed substantial betting on football matches and it is more than likely that players then were 'got at'. What should be borne in mind is that we are talking here of days when there were 37 race meetings a season at Happy Valley, no betting shops and illegal bookmakers in literally every major office block and residential area in Hong Kong.
They were largely wiped out years ago by the Jockey Club's decision to open OCB centres and operate an array of exotic bets that can make a $20 punter a millionaire overnight. Betting on local football during a racing season makes as much sense as having an under-cooked hot-dog when a succulent steak is available. The odds do not compute - even if there are bookmakers betting on the local game.
