And Myanmar strikes back!
Last week, Malaysia cancelled two friendly football matches between its Under-22 squad and the Myanmar team that were scheduled to take place in Yangon next month. The decision was a mark of protest against Myanmar’s alleged treatment of its Rohingya Muslim communities in Northern Rakhine.
Now, according to 7Day Daily, General Secretary Ko Ko Thein of the Myanmar Football Federation has announced that following Malaysia’s cancellations, Myanmar will not play any friendly matches with the Malaysian team for the foreseeable future.
“They [the Malaysians] called us and apologized for the cancellation. They also called and apologized to our chariman. However, we will not play any friendly matches with the Malaysian national football team or any of their other teams, regardless of age group,” Ko Ko Thein told 7Day.
Last month, Malaysian football authorities had stated that they did not want to withdraw from their AFF Suzuki Cup match with Myanmar and that “The government should think of other ways to protest and not make football the scapegoat.”
Guess that’s out the window, huh?
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