PETALING JAYA: Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin Najib did not travel on taxpayers' expense when he travelled to Moscow, Russia, to watch the World Cup final, says Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

The Youth and Sports Minister said that he had checked with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), where Nazifuddin is the secretary-general for the 2018-2022 term.

"He was not there representing the OCM and he paid for his own travel," he said on Twitter on Tuesday.

Syed Saddiq was answering Twitter user @klubbkiddkl, who had asked about the recent trip to Moscow by the former prime minister's son.

Nazifuddin posted several photos of his time in Moscow on Sunday (July 15) when France beat Croatia 4-2 in the nail-biting final.

In one photo, he is seen posing with Zabivaka, the football-playing wolf who is the Russian World Cup mascot.

He posted photos of himself giving a thumbs-up at the Luzhniki Stadium and also shared a photo op with retired French international footballer Christian Karembeu.

"Yeah! Finals!!! Croatia against France, which is your choice?" Nazifuddin wrote.

On Monday, Nazifuddin appeared to imply on an Instagram post that he was travelling to major sporting events in an official capacity.

The post showed him in United Kingdom with the caption "A photo of me in the UK. Maybe this can be the news material for tomorrow. Next I have to be in Jakarta for Asia Games #iworkinsports".