KUALA LUMPUR — The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has lodged an official complaint with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) over a series of contentious decisions during a men’s doubles match at the Malaysia Masters, which saw Malaysian pair Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai exit in the second round.
The complaint, submitted alongside video evidence and detailed match documentation, centres around three disputed decisions believed to have significantly affected the outcome of the match against Denmark’s Rasmus Kjær and Frederik Søgard.
“Fairness and integrity must be upheld in every match,” BAM general secretary Datuk Kenny Goh said in a statement posted on the association’s social media channels.
“The decisions made by the umpire were, in our view, clearly erroneous and denied our players a fair contest. Such officiating not only affects the outcome of matches but also undermines the credibility of the sport of badminton.”
BAM said it hoped BWF would conduct a thorough review of officiating standards and take “swift and transparent action” to prevent similar incidents in future competitions.
The controversy has stirred emotions among fans and players alike. Top Malaysian pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik — who beat the same Danish duo in the quarter-finals last night — accused BWF of longstanding bias in officiating, especially against Asian players.
“To all Malaysians, it’s not the opponents’ fault — it’s the umpire and all the referees. To be honest, BWF always does this. I don’t know why — they haven’t changed after all this time,” said Aaron.
The match also saw national men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi lash out at the umpire during an animated exchange courtside. He later admitted telling the umpire, “You are not fair, you like white people,” in comments that could potentially breach the BWF’s Code of Conduct for Coaches and Educators.
Under Clause 4.13 of the Code, coaches are required to refrain from making statements that are “abusive, insulting, personal in nature, imply bias or question the integrity of others.”
When Scoop contacted BAM Kenny to ask whether Herry’s comment would be reviewed under BWF’s Code of Conduct, he briefly replied: “For now, I have no comments on that.” - May 24, 2025
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