KUALA LUMPUR: A national women's football player felt the brunt of netizen's harsh comments when her X post directed specifically to the Harimau Malaya coach, Kim Pa Gon, sparked their outrage.
Despite deleting the post, swift actions by netizens caused Intan Sarah Anisah Zulgafli, better known as Intan Serah's post to go viral on various social media platforms.
The situation arose during the final match of the group stage E of the 2023 Asian Cup between Malaysia and South Korea, where Pan Gon made a player substitution by replacing the main striker, Darren Lok, with Paulo Josue.
Intan viewed it as an unwise substitution and expressed her desire to see Safawi given a chance to play.
However, Pan Gon and Paulo proved otherwise as the substitution yielded results, with Paulo Josue playing a crucial role in Malaysia's equalizing goal, tying the match against South Korea 3-3.
Due to this, many users on the X app seemed dissatisfied with Intan's comment.
Shariman Hafiz remarked, 'This is why women can't be head coaches, Intan. Hahaha.'
Adam said, 'Since before, KPG (Kim Pan Gon) has said he knows what he's doing, don't be foolish and overconfident with your statement.'
Muhammad Faiz added, 'Next time, wait until the game is over before commenting. The goal has already happened. He (Paulo Josue) came in and immediately scored (Malaysia's goal).'
Perhaps after facing severe criticism from football fans on various social media platforms, Intan had to make a U-turn and praise the actions taken by Pan Gon.
'KPG is clever, guys. That's why I'm not the national coach. Woohooooooo in KPG we trust,' said Intan on her X app."