Rangers may release just one of two Hong Kong players for Asian Games
Premier League side Rangers are considering releasing one of two players to the Under-23 Asian Games squad despite a date clash with their opening match of the season against I-Sky Yuen Long.
Forwards Chuck Yiu-kwok and Lam Hok-hei have been selected for the 20-member squad who will start their campaign in Incheon, South Korea, on either September 14 or 15, depending on the draw.
The club play their league match away to the New Territories side on September 14.
"We have proposed to shift the match to September 9 so the two players can join the Hong Kong team, but there has been no response from the Football Association," said Rangers director Philip Lee Fai-lap yesterday. "We don't understand why we have to start our season on that day with two of our best players having to play in the Asian Games.
"The opening match is always important to any team as we want to kick off the season with a convincing start to boost the morale and leave the fans with a good impression."
Lee said they had originally planned to send Chuck and Lam to Incheon only after their match against Yuen Long, but changed their minds because they did not want to annoy the authorities.
"We may now keep only Lam for the league match and release Chuck as we want to maintain harmony with the association. Also, Chuck's position can be covered by another player and his absence will hit the team less."
The opening match is always important to any team
Lam was voted the Best Youth Player for two seasons, from 2011-13, while Chuck won the same honour for the just-concluded season. If they can't play for Hong Kong, it will definitely affect the plans of coach Kim Pan-gon, who will be leading the team to the Asian Games for the first time.
The Football Association played down the issue yesterday, saying there would be an arrangement made between Rangers and coach Kim so both situations could be accommodated. "It's all about compromise and working with our clubs so that our international commitments can be balanced with commencing of the Premier League," said chief executive Mark Sutcliffe.
