Shortly after Brownhill’s official statement on Sunday, Johor’s regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim shared an Instagram story of his private exchange with the former Bristol City FC player where he had asked Brownhill to address the rumours.
Tunku Ismail, who is also the owner of Johor Darul Ta’zim football club, is known to play an important role in enhancing the ongoing evolution of Harimau Malaya, Sinar Harian reported on Dec 21.
Also known as Tunku Mahkota Johor, he has been asked to assist the government, the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in supporting the Harimau Malaya team due to his contacts in the global football arena.
“I think you have to come up with a statement that you are not Malaysian, my country is crazy over you and begging me to get you to play for Malaysia, it will help if you can clear the air,” he wrote to Brownhill last week.
In his reply, Brownhill said: “I’ve been thinking about addressing this for a while now and I think it’s time.”
The exchange between Tunku Ismail and Brownhill has since gone viral, with netizens urging greater caution in verifying claims about overseas players’ eligibility to play for Harimau Malaya, as some noted that the local scouting page FR Future Talents can no longer be found.
“It is embarrassing that we claim him (Brownhill) as Malaysian,” a netizen commented on a Berita Harian Instagram post which had reported on Brownhill’s statement.
Besides Brownhill, several other footballers have been mentioned by FR Future Talents as allegedly having links to Malaysia, including Dutch PSV Eindhoven youth player Iggy Houben as well as Birmingham City defender Dion Sanderson.
Since 2015, Malaysia has brought in 20 naturalised players into the national team, including Gambian Mohamadou Sumareh, Australian-born Brendan Gan, Brazilian-born Guilherme de Paula, and Colombian Romel Morales, according to Malay Mail.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-football-josh-brownhill-burnley-fc-captain-tmj-heritage-players-4831426
