KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will call up national women’s football player Intan Sarah Anisah Zulgafli following her criticism of player substitutions made by Harimau Malaysa head coach Kim Pan Gon during the Group E match of the 2023 Asian Cup in Doha, which ended in a 3-3 draw against South Korea on Thursday.

FAM Secretary-General Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said as a football player, Intan Sarah, or better known as Intan Serah, should not have made such statements, which were posted via a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) on that day.

“We will evaluate the statement she made,” he said when met at the welcoming ceremony for the return of Harimau Malaya at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 from Doha last night.

Noor Azman added that FAM would examine the statement before deciding on any action against Intan Serah.

The 24-year-old player had made strong statements questioning the appropriateness of Pan Gon substituting striker Darren Lok with naturalised player Paulo Josue in the second half of the match, sparking outrage among local football fans on social media.

“Another stupid sub from KPG (Kim Pan Gon), bring in Pawi (Muhammad Safawi Rasid),” she said.

On the contrary, Pan Gon proved the effectiveness of his strategy as Josue played a crucial role by providing an assist to Kuala Lumpur City FC player Romel Morales, who scored the equalising goal to make it 3-3 in the final minutes of injury time against South Korea.

Shortly after that, Intan Serah praised Pan Gon’s move by stating: “KPG is smart, guys. That’s why I’m not the national coach. Woohooooooo, in KPG we trust.”

Meanwhile, Noor Azman appreciated the government’s effort to allocate RM5 million to FAM, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to manage and enhance the national football squad’s capabilities.

“We express our gratitude to the Prime Minister and Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for the RM5 million contribution. We will discuss with the (FAM’s) Financial Management Committee (on fund usage),” he said.

Anwar said that the allocation took into account the high fighting spirit of the Harimau Malaya team in the 2023 Asian Cup competition, especially with the success of holding two-time champions South Korea to a 3-3 draw at Al Janoub Stadium, Doha. – BERNAMA / pic credit: X Intan Sarah Anisah Zulgafli