KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 — Police are tracking down the owners of social media accounts accused of spreading hatred targeted at several national footballers, following recent physical attacks against two players, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said recent social media posts containing personal attacks on certain national football players should not be taken lightly as they could foster excessive hatred.
“There have been instances where social media pages such as Facebook are aimed at mocking and belittling the actions of these national football players, and even their celebrations after scoring goals are scrutinised to incite hatred,” he said
He said this at a press conference after attending a seminar on Cybercrime and Substance Abuse Consciousness by the Royal Malaysia Police at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (NatSec) Asia 2024 exhibition here today.
Saifuddin Nasution also called for such actions to be stopped as incidents involving national football players like Akhyar Rashid and Faisal Halim are not conducive to the development of the country’s football.
He reiterated that the safety of football players in the country is guaranteed as police can protect them.
“The overall security situation is guaranteed; they (football players) should focus on their careers as the new league season approaches,” he said.
Police have arrested two individuals to help in investigations into the incident where national footballer Faisal was splashed with acid at a shopping centre in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, on May 5. — Bernama
