Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol KUALA LUMPUR  — Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general-secretary Datuk Windsor Paul John said Malaysia will play their Asian Cup qualifying match in Pyongyang, as the government has not imposed a travel ban to North Korea. Responding to claims the FA of Malaysia (FAM) may appeal against the decision to play the June 8 match in the hermit kingdom, Windsor said: “They are free to do so. “I’m not the one making the decision. The committee will decide and FAM must justify their appeal, if they intend to do so that is.” Windsor said it was AFC, and not the Malaysian government, who would assess the security situation in Pyongyang. “We will assess the situation there two weeks before the tournament. The AFC Women’s Asian Cup was held in Pyongyang … we had players and officials from all over the world there. Everything went well.” According to AFC regulations, Windsor said a match could only be played in a neutral venue if

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol and Wan Noriza Meor Idris mmnews@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR  — The FA of Malaysia (FAM) will “exhaust all options” after it was decided the national team will play North Korea in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers in Pyongyang next month. The decision, made by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Monday, sent jitters down the spines of several parties as this will be the nation’s first official visit to the hermit kingdom following a diplomatic row between both countries. China, South Korea and the United States were also at the edge of their seats following threats of nuclear missile tests by the rogue state. FAM general secretary Datuk Hamidin Amin, who was in Bahrain for the annual Fifa Congress, said he would speak to FAM president Tunku Ismail Ibrahim on their next move ahead of the match. “We are concerned. The first thing I’ll do when I get back is to meet Tunku Ismail and get his views. We will exhaust all options,”