KUALA LUMPUR: Even as he leads Terengganu in the Malaysia Cup semi-finals tomorrow, coach Nafuzi Zain has burned his bridges with the Turtles.
Nafuzi confirmed yesterday that he had rejected the offer of a contract extension by Terengganu FC (TFC).
The 44-year-old Kelantan-born coach, however, will continue to guide the Terengganu team in this season's Malaysia Cup.
TFC chief executive officer Ab Rasid Jusoh said they had received Nafuzi's reply yesterday, turning down their offer.
Rasid said TFC have no reason to "rest" Nafuzi (an euphemism for suspending a coach) and they will continue to pay his salary for the Malaysia Cup campaign.
"After he (Nafuzi) turned down our offer, we have received a lot of applications from overseas and locally for the head coach position.
"At the same time, we thank him (Nafuzi) for his service with us for seven years since 2016.
"Coaches and players come and go, it's the norm in football. We wish him success and good luck in his new endeavours."
On Monday, Rasid had defended TFC's move after Nafuzi slammed the management for their alleged unprofessional act of offering him a contract extension through the team's kit man.
Rasid had said he was disappointed with Nafuzi's allegation which brings disrepute to the club.