Ban on Red devils shirt upsets fans

Updated on: 24 July,2010 07:55 AM IST |
Agencies |

Manchester United's fans in Malaysia erupted in astonishment on Thursday after clerics warned Muslims against wearing the team's famous jersey with its 'devil' emblem

Manchester United's fans in Malaysia erupted in astonishment onu00a0Thursday after clerics warned Muslims against wearing the team's famous jersey with its 'devil' emblem.

Devils dread: Clerics have demanded a ban on the jerseys because
of the devil logo. Pic/AFP

Manchester United and the rest of the English Premier League are hugely popular in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where conservative religious leaders said the jersey was un-Islamic and should be banned. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook were flooded with comments from fans in the Southeast Asian nation.

"Maybe the religious leaders are just fans of Liverpool?" quipped one supporter on Twitter. "What am I gonna do with all my Man Utd jerseys?" Sharifah, asked on her Twitter account.

"As a Muslim, we should not worship the symbols of other religions or the devils," said Nooh Gadot, a top Islamic leader.

Malaysian clerics said that Muslims must not wear the iconic red jersey because devils should be shunned,u00a0 and urged those who had worn the garment to "repent immediately".