PETALING JAYA: There was a visible police presence in the national team went through their first centralised camp training session at the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) field in Kelana Jaya on Monday to prepare for the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifier.
Four policeman were on the ground as the players went through their paces.
FAM also did not use the official Harimau Malaya bus to take the players from the accommodation hotel to the training ground.
The additional security steps were taken in light of recent criminal attacks involving football players recently.
Terengganu player Akhyar Rashid who was robbed by unknown individuals at his residence in Terengganu while nippy winger Faisal Halim was splashed with acid at a shopping center in Petaling Jaya earlier this month.
Former national captain Safiq Rahim was also a victim of an attack when the rear window of his car was broken not long after that.
Meanwhile, Syafiq Ahmad has been dropped from the Harimau Malaya squad due to an injury.
National coach Kim Pan-gon has called up Zhafri Yahya from the standby list to replace Syafiq.
Pan Gon has called up 26 players for next month's World Cup qualifying matches against Kyrgyzstan (June 6) and Taiwan (June 11).
