Malaysia say 'no friendly' to Indonesia
KUALA LUMPUR: For a change, the national football team get to say no to others.
For years, Malaysia found it hard to get teams to play international friendlies against them due to the country's low world ranking.
But this time, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) has reportedly turned down an invitation from the Indonesia FA (PSSI).
Indonesian media reported PSSI president Erick Thohir as saying that their proposal to have a friendly with Harimau Malaya in September was turned down by FAM.
"We have long missed playing against Malaysia. One opportunity was during the Fifa window in September. We extended an invitation to Malaysia.
"However, perhaps the Malaysia senior team have other considerations as they are currently in the process of strengthening the squad," said Erick.
He said fans, too, are eager to see a clash between these Southeast Asian rivals, who have not faced each other for some time.
Their last meeting was four years ago with Indonesia beating Malaysia 4-1 in an AFF Cup match.
FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman confirmed that Malaysia had rejected the PSSI invitation as national head coach Peter Cklamovski has other plans for Harimau Malaya.
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