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Manchester United dump Malaysia match
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Premier League champions Manchester United Thursday bowed to pressure from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and called off their planned match in Malaysia in July.
The decision followed talks here Wednesday between AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam, Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards and Manchester United chief executive David Gill.
"This match is a key element of the Malaysian government’s celebrations of its 50 years of independence and presents a marvellous opportunity for us to play in front of our many Malaysian fans," United said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, new information has come to the club's attention concerning the FAM's (Football Association of Malaysia) agreement with the AFC to act as host for the Asian Cup, which means the club cannot play the game without the official approval of the AFC."
United said the only way the match could go ahead was if the AFC changed its mind.
An AFC official Thursday told AFP its position remained the same -- that the match cannot take place during the Asian Cup competition, which runs from July 7-29.
All four Asian Cup host nations -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam -- made pledges to the AFC that they would not hold or promote any other football matches during the flagship tournament.
Bin Hammam has warned the FAM it faces "wide-ranging legal repercussions" for failing to toe the AFC line although he has not made clear what they might be.
His fear is that a club of United's magnitude would draw attention away from the region's most prestigious football tournament, held every four years.
However, the rest of United's Asia tour to South Korea, Japan and Macau is set to go ahead despite AFC calls for it to be postponed.
"We tried to reach an amicable solution. In fact, I requested that United come two days later but they said it's not possible," FAM deputy president Tengku Abdullah was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
"There is nothing much we can do at this point in time."
United have fixed a friendly against Inter Milan at Old Trafford on August 1 and are unable to reschedule the match. They then take on Chelsea in the season-opening Community Shield on August 5.
The climbdown is a victory for the AFC, which had the backing of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, and a slap in the face for FAM and the Malaysian government, which invited United as part of their independence celebrations.
Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor and Sports Minister Azalina Othman Said could not immediately be reached for comment.
United will now kick off their pre-season commercial tour against J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds on July 17 before a showdown with FC Seoul on July 20. The team then travel to Macau for a match against Shenzhen on July 23.
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