Footballers who fear for their safety advised to lodge police reports promptly - IGP

KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has advised football players or football association management who feel their safety is threatened to promptly lodge a police report.

Razarudin emphasised the importance of reporting to enable immediate police investigations, and to ensure that incidents such as the recent attacks against several prominent footballers in the country do not recur.

“For the police to provide protection and surveillance to every football player across the country is indeed challenging. Therefore, I urge any football player who perceives threats to their safety, feels followed, or experiences stalking at home, to report to the police or the nearest police station,“ he told reporters at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (NatSec) Asia 2024 exhibition held here today.

He was asked to comment on Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s recommendation for the police to enhance the level of security measures following three physical attacks on national football players recently.

Commenting on the heated comments and speculations on social media regarding the acid attack on Harimau Malaya’s sensational winger Faisal Halim at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya last Sunday, he reiterated his earlier warning that the public should not draw their own conclusions regarding the case.

He stressed that while the police couldn’t investigate every allegation and speculation circulating on social media, they would look into substantiated claims.

“I’ve repeated this many times – refrain from speculating. Premature conclusions should be avoided until we ascertain the actual motive behind the attack,“ he stated.

Faisal was recently splashed with acid by an unidentified assailant at a prominent shopping centre in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, resulting in severe burns on his body and face.

This was the second attack on a national player, following the assault on Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid, a player on loan at Terengganu FC, who sustained head and leg injuries after being attacked by two assailants at his residential area in Kuala Terengganu.

The third incident involved Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) Safiq Rahim, whose car rear window was smashed using a hammer in Johor Bahru, on Tuesday.