Squad safety top priority — FAM

KUALA LUMPUR: Football Association of Malaysia ( FAM) president Tengku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismai l Sultan Ibrahim said that he completely disagree with the decision to play their 2019 Asia Cup final qualification round against North Korea on June 8 in Pyongyang.

Tunku Ismail said the security issue was the major concern and FAM was in a difficult position to release the squad to play in the qualifier due to the non-convincing situation in North Korea.

“As FAM president, I view the security of the national players very seriously, and in this situation, it is quite difficult for me to release them for the match in Pyongyang.

“However, North Korea will be rewarded 3- 0 win if we choose to abandon the match.

“In addition, we will also be penalised up to US$ 50,000 and sacked from the qualifying cup competition in Asia. Our major concern is that we might be barred from any AFC competition in the future.

“The question is, what should we do? Indeed, I want the match to be held at a neutral venue for the safety of the squad,” he said in a statement issued by FAM yesterday.

Tunku Ismail said he was also worried over accommodation and food for the squad in North Korea, based on the information given by his officials.

He said, to date, the government had not banned the trip but only issued a travel advisory and it was not enough for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to change the match venue to a neutral one.

Although he did not agree that the national squad travel to Pyongyang, the decision is in the hands of the government and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“To me, the priority is the safety of Malaysians.

“It all depends on what the Malaysian government and national footbal l supporters want,” he said. — Bernama