Faizal Azumu apologises for football remarks after being bashed
SHAH ALAM - Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu apologises after his comment on Harimau Malaya football supporters went viral earlier.
He acknowledged the importance of the support from local football fans during the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on June 11.
“The cheers and support of the fans as the 12th player is very important and very much appreciated.
"I feel headache after being attacked (Bila dah kena balon, saya pun pening). My previous statement on football has been misunderstood. Forgive me and I'm sorry for my mistake," he tweeted via his Twitter account.
The response from Malaysians and the supporters of the Harimau Malaya squad to his apologetic remarks was fascinating as the tweet even came up under the ‘Funny Tweets’ label on the social media platform.
Earlier, Ahmad Faizal defended the club’s goalkeeper Farizal Marlias following his blunder which led to the national squad to lose 1-2 to Bahrain in the 2023 Asian Cup qualifier last week.
He had said that external factors including the involvement of more than 63,000 spectators at the stadium should also be taken into account for the defeat as the cheers caused the players to lose focus during the game.
He added that the loss was not 100 per cent the players’ fault but the audience contributed to it as well, citing that if he was on the field at that time and the audience cheered, he would have lost focus too.
