Let fans attend matches, urges Selangor's Satiananthan

Selangor boss Satiananthan R. Bhaskran has pleaded with the authorities to allow supporters to attend matches once the 2020 Malaysian football season resumes.

In an interview with the Malaysian Football League (MFL), the experienced trainer voiced his belief in the public's ability to adhere to post-Covid 19 quarantine standard operating procedures (SOP).

"If all parties adhere to the SOP and regulations, I'm sure the pandemic will abate and no new cases will appear. I believe that the government can then permit the fans to attend matches once the league resumes.

"Fans are of the utmost importance in football, and their attendance will boost the players' morale," said the Malaysian coaches' association president.

He is also hoping that Malaysian clubs' strict adherence to post-quarantine training SOP will lead to the government allowing them to conduct training with body contact soon.

"In the past few days we have been able to follow the SOP and show everyone, especially the sporting fraternity, that no-contact training can be conducted. The SOP must be adhered to strictly in order to avoid the unwanted.

"I hope that in two or three weeks' time, training with body contact can be held again because so far we've only performed endurance training, with and without the ball," explained the former Malaysia head coach. 

While the 2020 season had been planned to continue at the start of September behind closed doors, there are rumours that it is currently being pushed for an earlier, mid-August restart date. As of this moment, only 16 out of the 24 top two tier teams have been permitted to conduct no-contact practice following competitions suspension and a nationwide quarantine.