Khairy Jamaluddin has spoken out after the venue of the highly anticipated exhibition had to be changed at the last minute, due to poor pitch quality.
The match was switched from the Bukit Jalal National Stadium to the Sham Alam Stadium on Friday.
Though the two Stadia are only 25 Kilometres apart, the last minute nature of the move still caused problems.
Speaking on his facebook account, Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said : “This thing is certainly embarrassing and inconvenient for the country’s reputation in Penykong supporters who have purchased tickets.
The match between FC Barcelona and the national team is a joint venture between FAM and the agent who organized the tour of FC Barcelona to Malaysia.
They are responsible for making all arrangements including selection field. In the case of FC Barecelona, ??the initial decision to hold their matches in SNBJ made by the organizers and FAM.
In any event, I sympathize with the thousands of fans who had to change their plans this evening. I hope they are still able to see a great match.”
There were further issues when fans who purchased VIP tickets for the Bukit Jalal Stadium were not all to redeem them at the new venue.
Barcelona ran out 3-1 winners, Fabregas, Neymar and Pique all getting on the scoresheet.