Malaysia will not play North Korea in Pyongyang in their AFC Asian Cup qualifier against North Korea on March 28, after the Malaysian government deemed travelling to the Republic a safety risk following strained ties between the nations.
"The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) received a letter from the government to not allow the national team to fly to Pyongyang to face North Korea in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers," said FAM secretary-general Hamidin Amin in a statement.
"The decision was conveyed to me by Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. We will not travel due to safety concerns."
This follows the death of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13.
Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had initially given the green light for the national team to travel to Pyongyang. But the situation changed after Malaysia opted to banish North Korean ambassador Kang Chol from the country, with a 48-hour eviction notice.
SIARAN MEDIA: Kerajaan Malaysia tidak membenarkan skuad Harimau Malaysia terbang ke Pyongyang, Korea Utara https://t.co/h3ioe0tmX0 pic.twitter.com/sGh25AjT5t
- FA Malaysia (@FAM_Malaysia) March 6, 2017
"The Malaysian government's decision to expel Kang Chol, who is North Korea's ambassador here, has made it unsafe for Malaysians to travel to North Korea for the time being," Hamidin said.
"With this, FAM has sent a letter to the Asian Football Confederation to request the game to be played at a neutral venue, due to safety concerns."
FAM are waiting for a reply from the AFC before their centralised training on March 13.
National team coach Ong Kim Swee was slated to announce his squad to face North Korea on Monday, but recent developments have changed his plans.
Ong and his assistant Brad Maloney will return home from English side Queens Park Rangers on Thursday after spending a monthlong stint with the club.
Both coaches were given the opportunity to follow QPR manager Ian Holloway in training sessions and participate in team discussions.
Apart from North Korea, Malaysia will also face Lebanon and Hong Kong Group B of the third-round qualifiers.