Malaysia cancels two friendly football matches against Myanmar

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has cancelled two friendly matches between its Under-22 squad and the Myanmar team that were scheduled to take place in Yangon next month.

While Malaysia’s national football governing body did not offer any reason for the cancellation, the move is believed to be related to Myanmar’s military campaign against Muslim Rohingya communities in norther Rakhine State, which have left dozens dead and inspired protests against the Myanmar government to spring up across Malaysia.

A week ago, the Malaysian government announced that it would summon the Myanmar ambassador over the issue.

Earlier this month, the FAM previously decided not to withdraw the Malaysian team from preliminary rounds of the the AFF Suzuki Cup, which were held in Myanmar from November 20 to 26.

“I do not agree with the idea of pulling out. The government should think of other ways to protest and not make football the scapegoat,” said FAM general-secretary and the Malaysian Tigers’ team manager, Datuk Hamidin Amin.

Malaysia failed to enter the semi-finals of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup after taking third place in the group-level competition.

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