AFC chiefs ‘deplore’ scenes at abandoned 2018 World Cup qualifier in Malaysia

Malaysian football fans set off flares during their nation's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP

Asian football chiefs have condemned the crowd disturbances that forced the abandonment of Tuesday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier in Malaysia and vowed to help the sport’s world governing body Fifa with its investigation into the incident.

The match, between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia at the Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor, was called off less than three minutes before full time after local fans launched flares and fireworks from the stands.

Players from both teams fled the pitch as thick smoke began filling the ground and did not return. The match was later abandoned and a report on the incident was sent to Fifa by the match commissioner, Rufus Prince of India.

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“The AFC is extremely disappointed with the events which took place on Tuesday and we stress that we take such matters very seriously,” Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said in a statement.

“Football in Asia stands for fairness and integrity and the incident in Kuala Lumpur does nothing to enhance the image of the game across not only our continent but also the rest of the world.

“This sort of behaviour is deplored by all those who seek to protect the best interests of football in Asia and help us in our aim to be the game’s leading confederation.”

Fifa has not yet announced any sanctions but typically takes a dim view of crowd disturbances, often handing out punishments including awarding 3-0 victories to the away team, issuing fines to the host nation and insisting future matches be played behind closed doors in empty stadiums.

“The Football Association of Malaysia will wait for the results from Fifa on the matter and make an appropriate announcement soon,” the association’s deputy president Haji Afandi Hamzah said in a statement.

“The association looks at this incidence seriously especially when it comes to the security of all parties including the spectators, players and securities in the stadium.”

The visiting Saudi Arabia team were leading 2-1 in the Group A Asian qualifier when play was stopped in the 87th minute after the trouble began.

Malaysia had led 1-0 when Mohd Safiq Rahim scored in the 70th minute but Saudi Arabia fought back to lead through goals from Taisir Al Jassim and Mohammed Al Sahlawi.

Malaysia have slipped to 169th in the latest Fifa rankings and are already bottom of the group after suffering a record 10-0 loss to the UAE last week, infuriating some local supporters who had threatened to protest during the match.

Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama, citing police, said that “up to 11 people have been remanded” over the incident.

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