KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Malaysia can finally heave a huge sigh of relief now that the Asean Football Federation (AFF) have agreed to let the Harimau Malaya replace their goalkeeper for the ongoing 2020 AFF Cup competition in Singapore.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Mohd Saifuddin Abu Bakar confirmed that their request had been approved by the AFF following a discussion with representatives of other AFF teams last night.
“They understood our situation and agreed to let us name a new player. FAM wish to thank the AFF for approving our request,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
He said the FAM would leave it to Harimau Malaya head coach Tan Cheng Hoe to decide on the replacement player to be called up.
Mohd Saifuddin, however, said that the replacement process might take some time as it would have to go through several procedures stipulated by the Singapore government.
FAM had previously confirmed that two Harimau Malaya players, namely goalkeeper Muhammad Khairulazhan Mohd Khalid and winger Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim, tested positive for Covid-19 in the republic.
They were confirmed to be Covid-19 positive after undergoing a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) screening at the Changi Airport on Friday.
Both players showed no symptoms and were ordered to undergo a 10-day quarantine in accordance with Singapore Health Ministry protocols, along with daily Covid-19 tests.
Based on the competition rules, no additions are allowed after the closing date for player registration, except for replacement involving the goalkeeping position.
Malaysia began their Group B campaign in the 2020 AFF Cup on a winning note after defeating Cambodia 3-1 yesterday. They will take on Laos on Thursday (December 9), defending champion Vietnam (December 12) and Indonesia (December 19). — Bernama
