Malaysian Football League (MFL) Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Ramalingam explained why the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2022 Contribution Cup match between Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) against Kuala Lumpur City.
The MFL’s decision has received great criticism, especially from fans where they questioned the actions of the league’s governing body which did not hold matches in neutral courts.
According to Stuart, the MFL has its own reasons why the match was held at SSI and not a neutral venue as questioned by fans.
“Donate Cup Venue, like mesay (is) the venue of the Super League champions,so it will be played at (SSI) Johor,against Kuala Lumpur foravoid massive traveland also the overall operationfor Cup Contribution during a pandemic (Covid 19).
“People might say we are should have held this match at venue neutral but in situation covid-19 a is not always easy, so,for the good of all parties, the good of the ball football, we need to make a changeto the local covid situation, ”said Stuart Ramalingam.
Stuart added, it is difficult for fans to come to the stadium at full capacity as the COVID-19 pandemic is still plaguing the country especially with the Omicron variant which has a worse effect than other variants.
JDT is the defending champion for the Contribution Cup competition where they beat the Kedah Darul Aman team in the 2021 edition match.
