NO APRIL FOOL’S JOKE FOR FANS
Supporters to be allowed back into stadiums next month
HERE’S the good news for Malaysian football fans, and it’s no April Fools joke. From April 1, fans will be allowed back into stadiums for M-League matches, said the National Security Council (NSC) yesterday.
The fan-tastic news was confirmed by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Sports Minister
Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican on a day which saw Malaysia marking the country’s Covid-19 lockdown anniversary.
However, before all the stadiums of the 22 M-League teams can throw open their doors, two matches — at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium and KLFA Stadium — will be used as a testing ground by the authorities to assess the effectiveness of “fans management.”
Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will host Melaka on April 2 at Sultan
Ibrahim Stadium while KL City will play Sabah at KLFA Stadium a day later.
Fans can book their tickets online for the two matches.
Ismail Sabri said the decision to allow fans back at stadiums was made after hearing proposals on the SOPs from the Sports Ministry and the views and risk assessment of the Health Ministry.
He said the two matches (JDT-Melaka and KL City-Sabah) will be allowed under the new ruling as proof of concept to evaluate the effectiveness of the spectator management protocol.
He said the Sports Ministry, NSC and Health Ministry will make a protocol compliance assessment of movement, entry and dispersal of fans during matches.
The SOPs set by the NSC for fans at stadiums are:
* In Conditional MCO zones, only 10 per cent of the stadiums’ spectator capacity or 2,000 people, whichever is less, will be allowed under supervisory control.
* In Recovery MCO (RMCO) zones, only 25 per cent of the stadiums’ spectator capacity or 8,000 people, whichever is less, will be allowed but under supervisory control.
* Match tickets will be sold only online.
* Physical distancing of a minimum 1.5 metres between spectators.
* Sales operations allowed only at outlets in the stadiums
* Entry and exit of spectators must be in a scheduled and organised manner.
THE Indonesian badminton team are unhappy with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) after they were forced to withdraw from the ongoing All England on Wednesday.
The team were instructed by the British health authorities to self-isolate for 10 days after a passenger on their flight to England tested positive for coronavirus.
The start of the prestigious All England Open was delayed on Wednesday after a number of
Covid-19 tests yielded both “positive” and “inconclusive” results.
All were retested and proved negative, allowing the event to begin five hours late with all participants cleared to play before the Indonesian team were told to isolate by UK coronavirus contact-tracing rules, forcing the team out of the event.
“All Indonesian players will not be able to compete in the current or next round of the tournament and have therefore been withdrawn from the All England Open,” said BWF in a statement on Wednesday.
Several Indonesian players enjoyed successful opening matches on Wednesday, including men’s fifth seed Jonatan Christie, men’s doubles top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and second-ranked Mohamed Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan.
Marcus, 30, is unhappy with BWF’s decision.
“We are in shock as we were forced to withdraw from the All England due to an anonymous passenger who boarded the same flight as us testing positive,” wrote the 2018 Asian Games gold medallist on Instagram.
“It has to be taken of note that the BWF have failed to organise this matter.
“Before the flight, the Indonesian team tested negative and were also tested again at the hotel.
“There were seven positive cases from other countries but were cleared after the second test.
“So why can’t we have the same justice here. The BWF should have implemented a bubble system to guarantee our safety.”
While Marcus was the most outspoken one, the other Indonesian players were also in unity as they unanimously shared a picture of the BWF logo with a simple caption — ‘BWF must be responsible”.
Meanwhile, Badminton Indonesia
(PBSI) chairman Agung Firman Sampurna also expressed his disappointment for the Indonesian shuttlers.
“I received the news this morning that the Indonesian team had to withdraw from the All England,” said Agung in a statement by PBSI.
“I do not wish to disrupt the harmony between associations and countries, but the public needs to know the facts.
“We followed all health protocols, and all of our players and coaches were tested for Covid and had received vaccinations.
“We are disappointed at this outcome, but we will not give up hope. We will not be discouraged by this setback.”