Thursday May 10, 2007
You have spoken: Bring over the Red Devils!
PETALING JAYA: To say that some people are disappointed with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) would be understating it.
FAM’s decision to rule out the Manchester United-Malaysia match scheduled for July because it clashed with the Asian Cup has sparked an uproar among The Star readers, whose reactions ranged from the unimpressed to the unprintable.
Nearly 90% of the 107 readers who took part in an online poll disagreed with the move.
“I think having United play Malaysia would help highlight Asian football, rather than take attention away from it. I am extremely disappointed,” said 29-year-old Dr Dian Haryaty of Kuala Lumpur, a self-confessed, long-time fan of the newly-crowned English Premier League champions.
Another die-hard supporter of the club, 22-year-old Stephen Lee of Subang Jaya, said: “Even if United are not coming to Malaysia, I don’t think I would be interested in watching the Asian Cup. Come on, this is ridiculous.”
His sentiments were echoed by “Acex” of Kuala Lumpur, who said, “Sorry, what cup did you say it was again? Asian Cup? Is that a coffee cup?”
Nearly 80% of readers who participated in the poll said they were United fans, with a large majority of them saying they had been supporters for more than 10 years.
Some non-fans also disagreed with the move.
“Where’s the logic? Only about 10 people in this country are interested in the Asian Cup, compared to literally a million MU fans. Do the math,” said T.J. Yap of Kuala Lumpur.
The few who agreed with FAM primarily saw the decision as a stand against commercial interests.
“Congratulations to FAM for its principles and courage in not bowing to big money,” said 45-year-old lawyer Andrew Lo of Kuching.
Said Aru of Kepong: “Manchester United are here more for the money than anything else.”
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