A PHOTOGRAPH of Safee Sali lighting up a cigarette was making its rounds on social media on Thursday and yesterday but the striker is unperturbed going into today’s do-or-die clash against Singapore in the AFF Cup.
The photograph, which was taken by a Singaporean, shows Safee with several of his teammates in a restaurant.
The player confirmed yesterday that it was him in the picture and that it was taken on Thursday but declined to comment further about it.
The photograph came on the back of Safee criticising Malaysian fans for chiding the team on Instagram after the 3-2 defeat to Thailand on Wednesday.
Safee, 30, subsequently apologised.
“I do not want to comment about my off the pitch actions here. What matters is how I perform on the pitch. I was happy with my form against Thailand and hopefully, I can perform better against Singapore,” said Safee.
Safee, who has not scored an international goal in two years, admitted that it would be a disaster if Malaysia do not reach the semi-finals.
“We are facing our fiercest Southeast Asian rivals. It will be an exciting match but I believe it will be closer as Singapore are without naturalised players.”