Striker Jafri blames referee’s ‘strange’ decisions for loss
youth striker Jafri Firdaus Chew blamed the match officials for the embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Cambodia in Monday’s AFF Under-22 Championship Group B match in Phnom Penh.
Sath Rosib’s free-kick goal in the second half earned Cambodia three points against Malaysia who were down with 10 players after Danial Haqim Draman received his second yellow card in the 59th minute.
“The referee made ‘strange’ decisions and favoured Cambodia. We were unhappy with some of the decisions. But we could not do anything about it,” said Jafri yesterday.
However, Jafri also felt his team did not play to their potential in the match.
“We did not play well, and our midfield had limitations. Everyone needs to forget about this defeat and focus on the next match,” he added.
Malaysia, who are in Phnom Penh with an under-strength squad, take on Indonesia today.
On today’s match, Kim Swee said: “We need to avoid defeat to re-ignite our hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
“I will make some changes in midfield as Danial (suspended) and R. Kogileswaran (injured) are unavailable.
“I am confident we can do better in our next game,” said the coach.
Fireworks can be expected when both teams face off as Indonesian fans are angry with Pahang for not releasing 21-year-old winger Saddil Ramdani for the tournament.
Pahang's social media sites have been bombarded with negative comments from Indonesian fans, and with the issue already at a boiling point, the match today is expected to be a heated affair.
“We will treat this match like any other games. The players will be prepared accordingly to face Indonesia, who did well in the 1-1 draw against Myanmar,” Kim Swee added.