KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is expected to take disciplinary action against Perak FC’s Muhammad Nur Azfar Fikri Azhar for obscene gestures he made during his side’s recent Super League match against Selangor FC.
The 24-year-old midfielder was visibly frustrated during the second half of the match after a ball tussle with Selangor’s Zikri Khalili, which resulted in the match referee awarding the Red Giants a throw-in.
Azfar, who has featured for the national under-23 side on several occasions, then made obscene gestures towards the linesman, an act captured on camera.
This has led to football fans condemning Azfar’s actions on social media as disrespectful and unprofessional, despite scoring his team’s sole goal in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Selangor in the match, which took place at the MBPJ Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking to Scoop, Malaysia Football League (MFL) chief executive Datuk Stuart Ramalingam said that the incident has now been referred to FAM, as player disciplinary issues fall under the football body’s jurisdiction.
“The matter involving Azfar’s incident will be referred to FAM’s disciplinary committee for further action, as incidents like these fall under their jurisdiction, and it’s up to them to decide on the appropriate measures.
“To clarify, the actions will be taken against the player and not Perak FC.
“From the MFL’s perspective, we do not like to see such incidents in our Super League matches, but we should be aware that this incident happened in the heat of the moment.
“I’m certain that Azfar regrets his reaction, but it has already occurred. It’s now up to FAM’s committee to decide what further action needs to be taken,” said Stuart when contacted.
For the record, FAM’s disciplinary committee fined Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Selangor FC for several infractions during last year’s Malaysia League (M-League) campaign.
Most notably, JDT was fined RM15,000 for an incident where a Kuala Lumpur City (KL City) FC fan suffered serious injuries after being assaulted by unknown individuals during the FA Cup final between the two teams at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri.
Additionally, former Selangor player Yazan Mousa Mahmoud Alarab was banned for life from all football activities in Malaysia for kicking and spitting at the referee after being shown a red card during their Malaysia Cup quarter-final, return-leg match against Terengganu FC.
Perak currently ranks 11th in the Super League table with three points from four games. – June 25, 2024