Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Khairy
Jamaluddin has hit out at local football fans who attacked Vietnamese
fans during last night’s (Dec 7) AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final at the Shah
Alam Stadium, and offered his apology to Vietnamese supporters.
A Vietnamese fan wipes blood on his head after scuffles between fans during the first leg of the Suzuki Cup 2014 semi-final match between Vietnam and Malaysia at Shah Alam stadium in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Reuters
A Malaysian police officer struggles with a Malaysian soccer supporter during the semi final first leg soccer match between Malaysian and Vietnam. Photo: AP
Malaysian soccer supporters set off flares after the match between Malaysia and Vietnam at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014. Photo: AP.
“These
violent fans do not represent Malaysia. My sincere apologies on behalf
of Malaysia for the actions of these small number of irresponsible
thugs,” he said on his Facebook page.
“No excuse for such violence. Especially against guests in
our country. Is this how we treat guests? It doesn’t matter whether they
are visitors or workers here, this is not Malaysian culture,” said an
irate Mr Khairy.
Vietnam defeated Malaysia 2-1 in the first leg of
the semi-final. The two teams will play the second leg in Hanoi on
Thursday (Dec 11).
It was reported that towards the end of the
match, a section of the Malaysian supporters started throwing plastic
bottles at the Vietnamese fans, and both sides were embroiled in
violence.
Mr Khairy said he was waiting for a report on the
incident from the police and the Football Association of Malaysia, but
added that he had witnessed how a section of Malaysian fans turned
unruly.
“These irresponsible people don’t think what would happen
to our fans when we play in Hanoi, Vietnam, for the second leg,” he
said.
Last week, Asian Football Confederation slapped a US$10,000
(S$13,219) on the Football Association of Malaysia for misbehaviour of
Malaysians fans during a friendly with the Philippines in March at the
Selayang Stadium.
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