Cklamovski has caused controversy after commenting on FIFA's 12-month ban on seven naturalized Malaysian players, forcing them to forge papers. The Malaysia coach gave his opinion, after a 3-0 victory over Laos, in the third match of the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
In the post-match meeting, he said: "All the chaos is happening with FIFA, administrative errors or anything are from FAM." This opinion made Malaysian football fans very upset. They also pressured FAM to fire Peter Cklamovski.
Before the return match against Laos, Mr. Peter Cklamovski denied disrespecting FAM, and emphasized that his concern was football, not paperwork and administrative troubles caused by FAM.
"If people feel I disrespect FAM, I apologize," he said. But that was not my intention. Actually, I said nothing different from what FAM shared. FAM issued a statement about the administrative error, and I only mentioned that. I have nothing to do with that.
The Australian strategist also affirmed that the Malaysian team is doing everything to avoid being distracted by the noise related to FIFA's penalty. He and the players want to focus completely on the ball, best preparing for the Malaysian team, in the match against Laos at home.
Despite the off-field harassment, Peter Cklamovski still called on Malaysians to unite in supporting the national team.
"I'm here not for myself, I'm here for the country. If people don't like me, it's okay. I will continue to do my job, move forward and make progress for the country. The important thing now is to support the players, because they are doing something special for Malaysia".
Captain Faisal Halim also agreed with this view, affirming that the whole team was still focused on the pitch.
As players, we have to continue to do what we have to do, he said. off-field problems are not our responsibility.
Meanwhile, Laos coach Ha Hyeok Jun has cautiously considered the issue of naturalizing players, after FIFA's penalty against FAM.
The Korean coach shared: "I don't like it and I don't hate it. In Japan and Korea, we don't use this system, but Southeast Asian teams like Malaysia and Indonesia are using it to get stronger. This can be understood and not necessarily bad, it has both advantages and disadvantages.
In Group F, Malaysia is leading with 9 points after 3 consecutive wins. They are 3 points ahead of the Vietnam team. In the first leg against Laos, Malaysia won 3-0 away.
The second leg between Malaysia vs Laos will take place at 8:00 p.m. on October 14 at Bukit Jalil Stadium.
