Saifuddin denies FAM senior management being targeted

PUTRAJAYA - Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has denied allegations that the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) senior management is being targeted following the recent attacks on Malaysian footballers.

"No (they are not being targeted). I just wanted to meet Faisal (Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim)," he told reporters briefly after attending the Prime Minister’s Department’s Madani Aidilfitri Open House here today.

He also did not elaborate on when he would meet Faisal, but had previously conveyed his sympathies over the acid attack on the Selangor FC footballer in a Facebook post.

"To Faisal Halim’s family, may you all remain strong in light of this challenge. I’m convinced the police have conducted a detailed investigation into this incident. Let’s put our wholehearted trust in the police," he posted.

Claims that several FAM officials would be the next targets of attacks after several national footballers were attacked recently were uploaded on an Instagram account recently, but the post did not provide the motive behind these attacks.

Three local footballers have been victims of recent attacks, beginning with Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid, who was injured during a mugging near his home in Kuala Terengganu on Thursday, followed by Faisal being splashed with acid at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, while Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player Safiq Rahim was attacked by two men on a motorcycle who smashed his car’s rear windscreen with a hammer in Johor Bahru on Tuesday. - BERNAMA