BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
The Indonesian FA (PSSI) has initiated negotiations for the release of young Indonesian stars Evan Dimas Darmono and Ilham Udin Armaiyn from their Malaysian club Selangor.
The duo has been called up to the Indonesia squad which will take part in the PSSI Anniversary Cup that will be competed between April 27 to May 3 in Bogor, Indonesia, with the Indonesia training camp to commence on Monday, March 23. The round robin invitational tournament will be contested by four nations; North Korea, Bahrain, Uzbekistan and hosts Indonesia.
But within that period Selangor, who currently sit only one spot above the relegation zone in the Malaysia Super League (MSL), will be facing Negeri Sembilan at home and league leaders JDT away.
According to the Indonesian edition of Goal, PSSI secretary general revealed that the association will negotiate the release of Evan and Ilham by Selangor for the tournament.
"I am still communicating with Selangor. From our discussions, they aware of the tournament's importance to Indonesia. But we must respect their decision and await the discussion's outcome.
"I cannot speak of player changes in the call-up, or on any sanctions," she said.
The duo's signing by Selangor earlier in the pre-season has sparked a controversy, when PSSI president Edy Rahmayadi took a dim view of their move across the Strait of Malacca, saying that it will impede the Indonesia national team's plans for 2018, as the country will be hosting the 2018 Asian Games.
But the situation was resolved and they joined Selangor after discussions between Edy and Selangor president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, with the 33-time Malaysia Cup champions agreeing to release the two players for Indonesia training camps and the Asiad, on top of official FIFA senior team matches.
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