Venue change need consent from North Korea - AFC

The North Korean Football Association must agree to play the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying match against Malaysia at a neutral venue before the appeal from Malaysia can be decided.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary-general Datuk Windsor Paul John said North Korea has the right to decide the neutral venue for the match.

"A decision is expected this week. If North Korea insists on playing the match in Pyongyang, the matter will be discussed in the AFC Competitions Committee meeting," he told Bernama when contacted today.

Malaysia are scheduled to play their Group B qualifying match against North Korea at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on March 28.

However, following the Malaysian government's travel ban to North Korea, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had appealed to the AFC for a change in venue, a neutral venue, to play its 2019 Asia Cup qualifying match.

Windsor said the safety of both teams would top the agenda.

However, the FAM need to submit a strong case to support the application in order to ensure a fair decision.

"Our communication for additional info is only through FAM. Once they have submitted all the necessary info, we will make a decision," he said.

Playing on a neutral ground or venue is nothing new since teams like Israel, Palestine, Syria and Saudi Arabia have been allowed to play at a neutral venue before.

Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said North Korea's decision to bar nine Malaysian Embassy staff and two family members from leaving the country would strengthen FAM's request for a change in venue.

"I was informed that AFC had requested for additional information to support the appeal but based on the latest development today, I guess there will be enough reasons to support our request.

"If they (North Korea) can do that to our embassy staff, there is no way we want to send our football team there," said Khairy.

Yesterday, North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol who was declared 'Persona Non Grata' by the Malaysian Government, left the country after being given 48 hours to do so by the foreign ministry on Saturday.

Kang Chol reportedly made unfounded and baseless accusations against the Malaysian Government relating to investigations into the murder of North Korean Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un on Feb 13.

Jong-nam was killed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia 2) when he was about to leave for Macau.

-- BERNAMA