Harimau Muda advised not to do anything stupid

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin advised the Harimau Muda team not to do anything "stupid" that could jeopardise their performance in a match.

Commenting on player Muhammad Nazmi Faiz Mansor, who was sent off the field for spitting at an opponent player in a match against Timor Leste in the first Group B play of the 2015 SEA Games last night, he said the incident was regrettable.

"Our players must know when they misbehaved like last night, they will not only get the red card, and will not be able to continue to play, but more importantly, they will disappoint their own team and the country," he told reporters here today.

After Muhammad Nazmi was sent off the field, the Malaysian team was limping with 10 players and only managed to win the game 1-0 over Timor Leste.

Khairy had earlier joined more than 10,000 participants in the TM Malaysia Fan Run organised by Telekom Malaysia Bhd in a show of support for national athletes participating in the 28th Sea Games.

The SEA Games will be held in Singapore from June 5 to 16, 2015.

Khairy told the Harimau Muda squad to improve the quality of their game before facing Vietnam and Thailand in coming games.

"I hope our players and coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee will learn from last night's match and reduce their mistakes," he said, and expressed confidence that the Harimau Muda squad was capable of showing a better game.