He said he would hold a press conference on Friday to address issues and queries regarding the team, and refused to answer any questions pertaining to it today.

“I will answer everything to do with the football team on Friday,” he said after the groundbreaking ceremony of the FAM headquarters at Presint 5, Putrajaya.

Denying that he was dodging queries from the media and football fans, Hamidin said he had been attending to family matters outside the country.

“Yesterday, I just cut off my wristband after undergoing quarantine,” he said.

The media had reported that fans wanted Hamidin to step down following the failure of the national squad, Harimau Malaya, to achieve their target of reaching the final of the AFF Cup in Singapore last month. Malaysia did not even qualify for the semifinals.

The national team was trounced 4-1 by Indonesia and failed to get past the first round. They were earlier hammered 3-0 by Vietnam after posting wins over Cambodia and Laos.

Head coach Tan Cheng Hoe took responsibility for the failure and stepped down from his post.

In the wake of their disastrous outing, fans called for changes in the FAM leadership.