Syahmi’s release is Selangor’s prerogative

FA of Malaysia (FAM) will not take action on Selangor for not releasing midfielder Syahmi Safari for the national youth team’s centralised training, which starts on Sunday.

FAM secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam said Syahmi is needed by Selangor for the Super League and furthermore he has just recovered from a hamstring injury.

Syahmi is expected to make his first start for Selangor in tomorrow’s Super League match against PJ City at the MBPJ Stadium.

“It is the team’s prerogative to release their players during nonFifa dates.

“Syahmi is an important player for Selangor and they need him for their Super League challenge.

National youth coach Ong Kim Swee is using the five-day centralised training to prepare for the AFF Under-22 Championship in Cambodia on Feb 17-26.

Stuart said Kim Swee will need to call up a player on his standby list to replace Syahmi.

“However, we hope this does not happen in future.

“It is difficult to get quality players for international tournaments as our talent pool is small,” he added.

Selangor hope to secure their first win of the season tomorrow after a 1-1 opening draw against Felda United last week.