Malaysian government bars national football team from playing in Pyongyang

The Malaysian government will not allow the National football team to play its 2019 Asia Cup qualifying match against North Korea in Pyongyang on March 28.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the national body was informed of the government's decision by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today.

"Khairy contacted the FAM this morning to inform me of the directive from the government and it was followed by a letter signed by the secretary-general of the ministry Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali, saying the government of Malaysia would not allow the National team to play in Pyongyang due to security concerns.

"The decision from the government came after the matter was discussed in the cabinet recently," he said in a statement today.

Hamidin said following the decision by the government of Malaysia to expel North Korea's ambassador Kang Chol last Saturday, it would not be safe for Malaysian citizens to travel to North Korea.

Hamidin said the FAM had sent a letter to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), seeking a change in venue (neutral venue) for the match between Malaysia and North Korea.

"I have also contacted AFC secretary-general Datuk Windsor John who is currently in Cambodia to inform him about FAM's request," he said.

Last Saturday, Malaysian foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman had declared North Korea's ambassador persona non grata over the alleged murder of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother Kim Jong-nam and ordered the diplomat to leave the country within the next 48 hours.

Kang Chol was alleged to have made baseless accusations against Malaysia after the murder of Jong-nam on Feb 13 at klia2.

He had also failed to appear at the Foreign ministry at 6pm local time on Saturday despite being summoned, retracted his accusations or sought an apology for his remarks. -- Bernama