KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has asked all football supporters to give the police space to probe into the recent criminal attack on three national players.

FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman advised all parties to refrain from making statements that could further inflame the situation.

"It is important that teams and their management do not make statements that could confuse the public or start a public discourse while the police are still investigating the incidents.

"For example, the repeated statements revealing that several Selangor FC officials have received threats may make them potential targets. There are also statements claiming that what happened to Selangor stalwart Faisal Halim was meant to end his career,” he said.

He said such open statements would indirectly lead to various worse perceptions and, thus, disrupt police investigations.

While reiterating FAM’s seriousness towards the incidents involving the three players, he also stated that the governing body did not have the jurisdiction to investigate these incidents as they all occurred in public areas.

He said that the Malaysian Football League (MFL), as the governing body of the Malaysia League (M-League), also did not have the authority to investigate as the incidents did not occur within the match venues.

However, he said police have provided FAM with regular updates regarding the investigations.

"So we must have faith in the police to conduct a thorough investigation until the perpetrators are brought to court. I urge everyone to remain calm... let’s leave it to the discretion of the police to conduct the investigation more efficiently,” he said.

On May 5, Faisal Halim suffered fourth-degree burns on several parts of his body after being splashed with acid by an unknown individual at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, which affected his movement and speech.

The incident was the second tragic event affecting a national player after Terengganu FC loan player Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid was injured on the head and leg after being attacked by two robbers at his residential area in Kuala Terengganu on May 2.

The attacks on national football players then took a new turn as Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) player Safiq Rahim came under attack by two men on a motorcycle who smashed the rear window of his car with a hammer in Johor Bahru on Tuesday (May 7). — Bernama