Their July 27 match here was cancelled after pressure from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) amid fears it would detract from the Asian Cup finals, which are co-hosted by Malaysia from July 7-29.

In a letter to Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Gill said it was a blow for a team that regarded Malaysia as a "second home."

"We are extremely sad and disappointed to hear that we are not welcome," he said in excerpts of the letter published in the New Straits Times Thursday.

"Malaysia is our second home. We played there in 1995, 1999 and 2001 -- more than anywhere else in Asia.

"Being the Premier League champions ... we were very much looking forward to celebrating with our fans (in Malaysia)," he said.

Supporters in the football-mad country have branded the AFC selfish for forcing Malaysia to dump the game, scheduled two days before the flagship tournament's final in Jakarta.

United were due to visit as part of the country's 50th anniversary of independence from Britain, despite Malaysian football bosses last year signing an agreement not to promote other matches during the Asian Cup.

Gill argued that Manchester United would be a strong draw for visitors to Malaysia, and underlined the club's support amid a major tourism drive this year.

"Manchester United will bring many fans who will not only experience Malaysia's beauty but whatever else it has to offer football fans," said Gill.

"When we were asked to participate in the Visit Malaysia Year and independence celebrations, we were honoured to come and do what we owe our fans who have been supporting the club."

The Red Devils plan to kick off their tour against J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds on July 17 in Japan before travelling to the South Korean capital for a showdown with FC Seoul on July 20.

Alex Ferguson's team will then head to Macau for a match against Shenzhen on July 23, although AFC president Mohammed bin Hammam has demanded that the entire tour be scrapped, calling the club "disrespectful."

The tour's promoter, ProEvents, told AFP negotiations were continuing behind the scenes to salvage the Kuala Lumpur match.

"There's a lot of confusion right now and it's not good for the fans," ProEvents Malaysia chief executive Julian Kam said.

"We are still negotiating with the Football Association of Malaysia to try and find a solution. There will be an announcement soon."

Kam added that the games in Macau, South Korea and Japan were "pretty much safe" as far as he was concerned, although Urawa said they were worried at the speculation.

"There is speculation that Manchester United may cancel their entire tour, but we have not received anything concrete on this matter," a spokesman for the club told AFP.

"I believe it's a Malaysian matter and it may not necessarily affect the entire schedule. Anyway, we are now trying to get information related to the issue."