The Malaysian team cancels the season opener after an acid attack on a soccer player

One of Malaysia’s top football clubs has pulled out of Friday’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of attacks, including an acid attack, on players in the country.

The start of the Malaysian football season this weekend is in darkness after the unprecedented violence against players that shocked and angered the country.

Authorities said they had imposed tighter security measures, but Selangor FC said they would not play in their opening game against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” “.

Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care with fourth-degree burns after he was splashed with acid at a shopping mall outside the capital Kuala Lumpur over the weekend.

His Malaysia teammate Akhyar Rashid was injured in a robbery outside his home in the eastern state of Terengganu last week.

In the latest incident on Tuesday, former JDT Malaysia captain Safiq Rahim escaped unhurt after being threatened with a hammer and having his car windshield smashed by two assailants.

Selangor FC announced that it had withdrawn from the game against Malaysian Super League champions JDT at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri in the southern state of Johor.

“After much consideration… the club has reluctantly decided not to participate,” Selangor, the 2023 Super League runners-up, said in a statement released late on Wednesday.

“Team safety is paramount and we take all forms of violence and threats seriously.”

Malaysian Football League chief executive Stuart Ramalingam admitted the game would not be played.

“Yes, probably, as Selangor has confirmed they will not be taking part,” he told AFP on Thursday, but added that he expected the league’s opening five games to take place on Saturday and Sunday.

“There is no other club that has asked for a postponement or indicated that they do not want to play,” he said

– “Life and safety of players” –

JDT managing director Alistair Edwards appealed to Selangor to reverse their decision.

“We strongly condemn the Faisal Halim incident and the alleged threats… but we hope that Selangor FC can reconsider its decision to withdraw from the game,” he said in a statement late on Wednesday.

But Sultan of Selangor Sharafuddin Idris Shah expressed support for the team’s withdrawal and criticized the football league for rejecting a request to postpone the match.

“His Majesty said the priority at the moment is the lives and safety of the players and not winning the Cup,” the Selangor Royal Office said in a statement.

Selangor launched an anti-violence campaign on Wednesday ahead of the team’s withdrawal, calling on the public to combat attacks on players.

Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the attacks, the first since the country’s professional league was founded 30 years ago.

“This has never happened in the history of Malaysian football,” Malaysian Football Association president Hamidin Mohamad Amin told AFP.

Faisal underwent multiple surgeries after the acid attack and his condition is improving, Selangor Football Association deputy president Shahril Mokhtar told AFP.

“After the second operation, he (Faisal) is in a much better condition. He just underwent his third procedure…reconstructive surgery,” he said.

The 26-year-old, nicknamed ‘Mickey’, plays on the right wing for both club and country and made national headlines when he scored in a shock 3-3 draw against South Korea at the Asian Cup in January.

The third victim, 36-year-old Safiq, plays for JDT, which is run by the crown prince of the powerful Johor royal family.

Adam Nor Azlin, 28, a central defender for Pahang and Malaysia, said: “I hope the violence against football players stops immediately.”

He appealed to fans to continue attending games.

“We want to hear your loud roar. Show us that you love football and are against violence,” he said.

Soccer fan Zul-Azri Mohamad Khalid, 46, said he was “shocked and angry that there are people who can go so far” and called the attack on Faisal “inhumane.”

Mohamad Shuhaily Mohamad Zain, the head of the police’s criminal investigation department, said it was not yet clear whether the attacks were connected, but all the attacks involved two people who were chasing the players.

Two suspects were arrested in connection with the attack on Faisal. One has been released and the other is still being questioned, he added.

Local media reported on Thursday that police recovered a suspect’s fingerprints from the mall and analyzed them to facilitate the search.

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