The government agency said more work was needed to ensure the integrity of the sport, ESPN reported.

“Corruption involving local footballers is still prevalent in the country. We are still encountering cases involving corruption among footballers, but it is not easy to prosecute someone without any concrete evidence.

“I can tell you that bookies are always looking for opportunities to get in touch with the players, and trying to get them to be on the take. The present situation is not at a worrying level, and we are trying to ensure that it does not get worse,” MACC deputy chief commissioner Azam Baki was quoted as saying by the international sports network.

His comments follow allegations by the coach of Malaysian Premier League club MISC-MIFA that his players were “dishonest” in a match that the club loss 7-2, at home to UiTM FC on March 3.

Players from the second-tier Malaysian league club are now under investigation by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), aside from MACC.

“A lot of organisations sometimes try to cover up cases involving corruption, and this is detrimental to the cause of fighting corruption. But on MACC’s side, we will investigate anyone who is suspected of corruption, be it the bookies, officials or players,” Azam told ESPN.

In 2013, five players and three officials from the Kuala Lumpur team were handed life bans after being found guilty of match-fixing.

The eight who represented Kuala Lumpur in the Premier League were also fined RM20,000 by FAM.

The officials disciplined were coach Stanislav Lieskovsky, assistant manager Rosli Omar and kitman Shaari Jani.

The five Malaysian players involved were 29-year-old defender Jeremy Danker, 28-year-old right back Hafizi Roslee, 26-year-old centreback Fadhulah Yunsiar, 31-year-old midfielder Khairul Anuar and 22-year-old goalkeeper Phoo Kai Lun.

Another 17 individuals were fined RM5,000 each for their involvement in the match-fixing scandal.