Malaysian football team pulls out of season-opener after assault on players

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

Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but on Friday, Selangor FC said they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser 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 being splashed with acid at the weekend outside the capital Kuala Lumpur.

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, JDT's former Malaysia skipper Safiq Rahim escaped unharmed after he was threatened with a hammer and his car windscreen was smashed by two assailants on his way home from a training session.

As a result, Selangor FC said they had withdrawn from the Friday night match against Malaysian Super League champions JDT — one of Asia's top clubs — at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, southern Johor state.

Critical condition

"After much deliberation and detailed discussion with various parties... the club has reluctantly decided to not participate," Selangor, the 2023 Super League runners-up, said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

"The safety of the team is of utmost importance and we take all forms of violence and threats seriously".

Stuart Ramalingam, chief executive officer of the Malaysian Football League, conceded that the game would not be played.

Ramalingam added the five remaining Super League fixtures scheduled for Saturday and Sunday would go ahead.

"All other matches will go on," he said. "There are no other clubs that have asked for postponement or indicated they don't want to play."

Football Association of Malaysia president Hamidin Mohamad Amin has urged high-profile footballers to take safety precautio ns, including hiring bodyguards.

Authorities have yet to establish any motives for the attacks, the first since the formation of the country's professional league 30 years ago.

Faisal is in critical condition in hospital and will reportedly need multiple surgeries after he was splashed with acid at a shopping mall on Sunday.

Two suspects were arrested in relation to the attack on Faisal. One had been freed with the other still being questioned, he added.