COMMENT | On Thursday, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh told Parliament why she cannot legally interfere with the affairs of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Her caution and impassioned plea were simple: Don’t incur the wrath of the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), which forbids government meddling in national football bodies.

Rejecting calls for ministry action over the scandal of seven naturalised players, Yeoh leaned on Fifa’s non-interference rule.

She cited precedents...