KUALA LUMPUR: English footballer Josh Brownhill has rubbished claims that he would be eligible to play for Harimau Malaya due to his alleged Malaysian heritage, which he has since denied. 

Harimau Malaya is the nickname of the Malaysia national football team. 

“Just wanted to address the situation of some rumours that have gone around. Unfortunately, my only nationality is English and I am not Malaysian as some people may believe,” the Burnley FC captain said in an Instagram story post on Sunday (Dec 29), amid fervent rumours that he would represent the Southeast Asian nation. 

“I’m not sure how this started but I wanted to clear it up.”

Local news outlet Malay Mail reported that the 29-year-old midfielder’s alleged connection to Malaysia first surfaced when social media page FR Future Talents shared an email exchange purportedly with Brownhill on Sep 3, revealing his Malaysian roots through his grandmother. 

Brownhill reportedly expressed pride in his ancestry and said he would consider the opportunity to represent Malaysia if approached. 

“While I have focused on my club career up until now, the possibility of representing Malaysia at the international level is something I would be open to considering,” he was quoted as saying on Sep 3 to FR Future Talents by Malay Mail.

FR Future Talents’ X account has since been made private while a check on Instagram saw that its page “isn’t available”. 

Brownhill, however, did not mention whether he had been in communication with FR Future Talents in his Instagram story on Sunday. 

Prior to Brownhill’s statement, FR Future Talents had claimed in September that the midfielder and his teammate Zian Fleming are close to finalising their paperwork to represent Malaysia and are “expected to make their debut by November”, the New Straits Times reported.

Shortly after Brownhill’s official statement on Sunday, Johor’s regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim shared an Instagram story of his private exchange with the former Bristol City FC player where he had asked Brownhill to address the rumours.

Tunku Ismail, who is also the owner of Johor Darul Ta’zim football club, is known to play an important role in enhancing the ongoing evolution of Harimau Malaya, Sinar Harian reported on Dec 21. 

Also known as Tunku Mahkota Johor, he has been asked to assist the government, the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to support the Harimau Malaya team due to his contacts in the global football arena. 

“I think you have to come up with a statement that you are not Malaysian, my country is crazy over you and begging me to get you to play for Malaysia, it will help if you can clear the air,” he wrote to Brownhill last week.  

In his reply, Brownhill said: “I’ve been thinking about addressing this for a while now and I think it’s time.” 

The exchange between Tunku Ismail and Brownhill has since gone viral, with netizens urging greater caution in verifying claims about overseas players’ eligibility to play for Harimau Malaya, as some noted that the local scouting page FR Future Talents can no longer be found. 

“It is embarrassing that we claim him (Brownhill) as Malaysian,” a netizen commented to a Berita Harian Instagram post which had reported on Brownhill's statement. 

Besides Brownhill, several other footballers have been mentioned by FR Future Talents as allegedly having links to Malaysia, including Dutch PSV Eindhoven youth player Iggy Houben as well as Birmingham City defender Dion Sanderson. 

Since 2015, Malaysia has brought in 20 naturalised players into the national team, including Gambian Mohamadou Sumareh, Australian-born Brendan Gan, Brazilian-born Guilherme de Paula, and Colombian Romel Morales, according to Malay Mail.