“Leave Kelantan if you’re not interested.”
That was the message from Kelantan head coach Velizar Popov to his players who are not interested in helping the team for the remainder of the Malaysia Super League (MSL) season.
The Bulgarian chose not to hide his feelings when his team went down to ten men after Wan Zaharulnizam was shown a red card during the reverse fixture against Selangor on Saturday.
“There is something unusual going on here. It is definitely not normal to pick up two red cards in two matches in the space of three days. It is unprofessional because we are forced to play with ten men against a strong team,” Velizar Popov said as quoted by Sinar Harian.
“To those without the heart to play for Kelantan, you are free to leave the team at your will.
Velizar Popov admitted that he was baffled by the fact that history can repeat itself and will do everything in his power to find out the reason behind the attitude of the players.
“In Europe, when something like this happens, I would not hesitate to cut the players’ salaries. Everyone has to realize that no single person is bigger than the entire team.”
Kelantan lost 5-2 at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium on Saturday, after playing one of their best football games of the season in a goalless draw in Shah Alam three days earlier.
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