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KUALA LUMPUR, November 13 —Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) understands and has accepted the government’s decision not to allow them to compete in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) in Doha, Qatar, said today Putrajaya.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister (Safety Group) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that MotoGP rider Hafizh Syahrin will be able to compete abroad as the permit was granted during the period of the recovery motion control order. (RMCO).
He said the JDT application was within the most restrictive conditional MCO period (CMCO) and with a large number of players and technical staff, it would be dangerous if even one of them were to become infected with Covid-19.
“That was during RMCO and we allowed it. And they are not in large groups, ”he said at his press conference, referring to Hafizh.
“And for football it is during CMCO when we strictly do not open national borders, especially for large groups.
“JDT was informed and they agreed because they also want to take care of the safety and life of their players. JDT understands and there is no problem for them not to compete in the AFC ”, he added.
Ismail Sabri also said that recently there have been cases in Tawau, Sabah where a referee from a soccer match that was Covid positive ended up infecting players and their families.
“We need to remember that there is a case in Tawau, when the referee who tested positive for Covid transmitted the infection to teams and others,” he said.
Yesterday, the National Security Council government announced its decision to postpone the remaining Malaysia Cup matches.
He also banned the seven-time Super League champion JDT from traveling to Doha later this month for the ACL.
Ismail reiterated that the government will uphold its decision due to the worrying situation of Covid-19 in the country.
He said that high-intensity sports like soccer require contact, so the decision was made to curb the spread of the pandemic on the field and elsewhere.
