Liverpool will not be facing Malaysia Selection’s strongest XI come this Friday’s match at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium of Kuala Lumpur, according to James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo.
Malaysian Super League clubs have lodged complaints about the friendly being scheduled midway through their domestic season.
There have also been complaints about which side stands to benefit financially in this match-up, the Malaysian Super League Clubs or the Reds.
Selangor FA, one of the most successful football clubs in Malaysia, have not allowed their players to accept call-ups from national team manager Dollah Salleh.
Three Selangor players were named in the 20-man squad: Australian Robert Cornthwaite, Afiq Azmi, and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri, however none of them turned up for training camp.
Other teams have since followed suit, such as Pahang FA who did not allow Nigerian forward Dickson Nwakaeme to attend training.
National team gaffer Dollah Salleh was again given the snub by the club he managed in 2014, PDRM FA, after forwards Ali Ashfaq and Super League top scorer Dramane Traore have removed themselves from the squad, citing an injury and poor fitness respectively.
Amirudin Shari, manager of Selangor, is strongly opposed to the exhibition match against the Merseyside Club, saying, “We don’t want to fight anyone, especially FAM (Football Association of Malaysia), but we believe we have a strong reason for not releasing our players for an exhibition match.
“The match is not being held during the FIFA calendar so I think we have a good case.
“We have released our players for exhibition matches, including against Tottenham last month.”
After speaking about Selangor’s and other Super League clubs’ unwillingness to release players for the upcoming match, Shari also spoke out about who this match is set to benefit, both financially for the clubs and physically for the players.
“We feel that this particular match does not benefit us or the national team.
“This match will only enrich the match promoters. We want to keep our players fresh for the Super League campaign.”
Dollah, who was planning on using this friendly as preparation for World Cup qualifying matches against UAE and Saudi Arabia in September, has been left furious and with a sticky situation to deal with in the coming days leading up to Friday’s match.
The Football Association of Malaysia will take action against Selangor, with a fine of 50,000 Malaysian Ringgits (around £8,500) and a loss of points for the club the likely course of action.
Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, the Malaysian Football Association’s secretary general, is aware of the situation regarding the unwillingness of Selangor and other clubs to release their players for the upcoming friendly and has made a statement saying, “I can confirm that the three players have snubbed centralised training.”
“We have instructed Dollah to file a report after the match. We are upset but I don’t want to comment until we receive the report.”
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