KUALA LUMPUR: “No forgiveness for you, I’ll see you in court!”
This was Khairul Helmi Johari’s reaction to Facebook user Muhammad Ridzwan who made a public apology following allegations of bribery that he levelled against the Kedah skipper and five other players as well as coach Nidzam Adzha Yusof.
Khairul who is popularly known as Keon, said, even though Ridzwan has admitted to his mistake and apologised for it, he however finds it difficult to forgive because the accusation thrown at him is a very serious one.
“The accusation is not just damaging but can also destroy my football career. Imagine if Kedah were to believe such allegations and terminate my contract, what would happen to me, what would I do?
“So it’s not easy for me to forgive and forget even though he has made a public apology.
“My message to him is if he dares to throw around such accusations then he has to face the consequences, I will sue, so just prepare the money to pay for the damages, as the least I will claim is RM200,000.
“I feel that the rest of my teammates will probably take the same course of action. So he should prepare to face us in court.
“I am not a vengeful person but I have to take action so this case can be a lesson to others not to just simply accuse players of taking bribes,” stressed Keon.
In fact, Keon is of the opinion that Ridzwan’s apology is not sincere as he did not show his face and wore a cap, sun glasses and a face mask when making the apology via a video clip.
“Why must he conceal his identity? Is he shy or afraid of showing what he looks like? If he is truly sincere about apologising then he should come and meet us face-to-face and apologise to us in person,” added Keon.
Ridzwan, claimed through his Facebook account that Khairul along with five of his teammates, Arif Farhan Isa, Rizal Ghazali, Amirul Hisyam Awang Kechik, Syazwan Zainon and Ifwat Akmal Che Kassim, along with coach Nidzam Adzha had accepted bribes after Kedah lost the Malaysia Cup final to Johor Darul Ta’zim 2-0 on November 4th.
However, Ridzwan has uploaded a video recently as a means of making an apology to the players and coach after a police report had been lodged against him.