PETALING JAYA: National coach Peter Cklamovski insists that he had made the right call to field the seven mixed-heritage players in the Asian Cup matches.
Cklamovski maintained that once the players had been cleared by the team management, it was his responsibility to utilise them.
The Australian stressed that his role was to focus on team performance, not administrative matters.
“If I start getting involved in other areas, I won’t be effective in the role I’m most responsible for. When you look at the simple facts, they were approved to play, so why should I question that? It’s as simple as that,” said Cklamovski.
“If they’re not available, then they are not an option for selection. For me, it’s very straightforward.”
FIFA have suspended Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel for falsifying documents in an eligibility case involving the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
Meanwhile, Cklamovski defended his decision to include Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) centreback Junior Eldstal in the national training camp ahead of the Asian Cup Group F match against Vietnam at the Nam Dinh Stadium on March 31.
Eldstal has come under scrutiny as he has yet to feature in the Super League and has only played for JDT’s second team in the A1 Semi-Pro League, although he has earned 23 caps for Malaysia.
The 34-year-old, however, did feature for JDT last season.
“It’s not uncommon to bring an experienced player into the group as many national teams do this,” said Cklamovski.
“What he brings from a leadership perspective is invaluable. That’s something you can’t always measure with data, but it’s an important factor when selecting the squad in this situation.”
