MANILA (22 May 2012) – Philippines’ Neil Etheridge, the highly rated custodian who plays for Fulham FC in the English Premier League, will miss the team’s rematch against Malaysia on 1 June 2012 in Kuala Lumpur.
Etheridge will miss the game due to a ban and also a USD3000 fine handed down by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a transgression in the AFC Challenge Cup in March this year.
“It’s frustrating, watching the game from a studio instead of playing it myself. But at the same time, I understand why the AFC have done this. Whether it was to prove a point or for people to say, it doesn’t matter where you come from, or where you’re playing, we’re going to do the same for everyone,” Etheridge added.
Other than Etheridge, the Philippines will also be without Phil and James Younghusband for the match in Kuala Lumpur but they will be back for the matches against Indonesia on 6 June at the Rizal Memorial Stadium and against Guam on 12 June at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod.
Both teams are gearing up for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 at the end of the year and where they have drawn up a series of friendlies to better prepare their teams for the biggest football extravaganza in the region.
The Philippines and Malaysia had clashed in February in Manila this year which ended in a 1-1 draw.
