Malaysia 'won't ban Man U's 'Satan' shirts'

Kuala Lumpur, July 23 (ANI): Malaysia's Islamic authorities have said they have no plans to issue an edict banning Manchester United shirts in the country, despite recent tabloid reports that Muslims have been urged not to wear the shirts because the club emblem features a devil.

Harussani Zakaria, a cleric from northern Perak state, said football kits with devils, crosses or skulls promoted the "wrong value" for Muslims but that doesn't mean he wanted them banned.

"We just advise people not to wear this. Satan is for us our enemy ... It's the wrong value. Satan is always bad," Zakaria said Friday.

His clarification follows domestic and international news reports which claimed that Manchester United shirts and uniforms of other international teams and clubs had been banned for Muslims in Malaysia.

The Manchester United emblem features a red devil holding a trident and the club is sometimes referred to as the Red Devils.

The Star quoted Harussani as saying that other clerics also shared his view, but they didn't plan to pass any edict to ban the attire either.

He said many football fans were unaware of the image on the emblem. (ANI)