UNBECOMING INDONESIAN FANS
FAM send letter of complaint to AFC and AFF over ‘dogs’ chants
THE FA of Malaysia (FAM) have sent a letter of protest to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Asean Football Federation (AFF) following Indonesian fans’ unruly behaviour in the AFF Under-16 Cup tournament on Monday.
The Indonesian fans insulted Malaysia with provocative chants such as “Malaysia are dogs” during the AFF Under-16 match against Thailand at the Joko Samudro Stadium in Surabaya. Malaysia lost 2-1.
FAM secretary general Stuart Ramalingam said FAM share the same view of former president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim who said in a statement that the name of the country has been tarnished and degraded.
Tunku Ismail had also urged FAM to make an official protest to AFC and AFF and if necessary, withdraw from the competition.
Stuart said: “We have acted quickly, sending a letter of protest to AFF and AFC, so that both parties can take the necessary action in making sure the same thing doesn’t happen again in Malaysia’s match against Brunei on Friday.
“We hope AFF and AFC will be stern in the matter. Remember that Malaysia were fined US$30,000 (RM121,702) after Malaysian fans made abusive chants towards Brunei and Singapore during the Sea Games football matches last year in Kuala Lumpur.
“Appropriate action should be taken after the Indonesian fans’ action,” he said yesterday.
Stuart said FAM will send an exco member ACP Md Dali Wahid, a high ranking police officer, to Surabaya, to ensure the safety of the national Under-16 squad.
“If the host nation and organisers are taking this matter lightly, FAM will not hesitate to take drastic action in the future,” he said.
During Monday’s AFF Under-16 Cup match, Indonesian fans were chanting “Malaysia are dogs” and “Amirul is a dog”.
The act could have been provoked by Malaysian forward, Amirul Ashrafiq Hanifah who had uploaded a picture of his team at the airport on his Instagram account. It included the Indonesia flag in the caption but he had mistaken it for a Polish flag. He has since apologised for the error.
On July 12, the Malaysian football team were attacked with stones and bottles by Indonesian fans in the semi-finals of the AFF Under-19 Championship at Stadium Gelora Delta in Sidoarjo in Indonesia.