FAM hopes North Korea-Malaysia match will be played at neutral ground

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) still hopes the North Korea-Malaysia Asian Cup qualifying match slated for October 5 will be played at a neutral ground for the safety of the players and officials.

Its president, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim however said the final decision to allow or disallow Harimau Malaya (national team) from going to North Korea for the match still lies with the government.

"I do not know at what the level is the case, whether we are okay with each other or still in conflict. For the time being, I suggest that we should not travel there until everything is settled.

"I leave it up to the government to decide but if you ask for my personal opinion, I prefer to play at a neutral ground.

"If the government decides to allow us to go to North Korea, then, we will go to North Korea and play the match ," he told a press conference to introduce new national head coach, Nelo Vingada, here Wednesday.

Malaysia, who were scheduled to play against North Korea at Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang on March 28, were prevented from leaving the country by the government due to safety concerns.

This followed strained ties between Kuala Lumpur and Pyongyang after the death of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2) on February 13.

The FAM then requested to play the match at a neutral ground but their North Korean counterpart was against the idea and wanted the match to be played in Pyongyang.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) then fixed the match for June 8 in Pyongyang and later postponed it to October 5.

--BERNAMA