Skip to main content

Malaysian Fans Ready To Weather Stormy AFF Cup Final In Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 (Bernama) -- Contrary to reports and apprehension on safety aspects at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, venue of the AFF Suzuki Cup final between Malaysia and Indonesia tomorrow, some 300 die-hard Malaysian fans are ready to weather the storm.

The group of fans from Selangor, Kelantan and Johor, gathered by the Selangor Fan Club (SSFC) and Gerbang Tempur Penyokong Bola Sepak Malaysia (Ultras Malaya) headed to Jakarta today, knowing pretty well, what to expect from the hostile Indonesian crowd.

SSFC president Mohd Nasir Mohd Yunus said fans who had come from all over the country, were ready to face an eventualities in their mission to provide support for the country's national team.

"As a precautionary safety measure, we have already informed the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta.

"Malaysia fans need not be afraid because even if there was any fracas, it will be only during the game in the stadium and will not spread elsewhere or outside the stadium. But as fans we must be careful," he told Bernama when contacted Tuesday.

There have been claims that Malaysian fans would not dare come to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium to support the Malaysian team in action against Indonesia in the AFF Suzuki Cup final tomorrow, due to safety reasons.

A number of Indonesian papers had reported that Malaysian fans are not brave enough to be present at the stadium to support the national team for fear of their safety.

However, although there are no exact details of the number of tickets bought by Malaysian fans, it was reported that 5,000 tickets have been allocated for the second leg final.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek when met by Bernama in Jakarta said the number of fans in Indonesia would not be many as compared with the presence of Indonesian fans in Bukit Jalil for the first leg final.

On Sunday, 15,000 Indonesia fans were at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil when Malaysia scored a convincing 3-0 win amidst claims that Malaysia had won unfairly.

Mohd Nasir said it was the wish of the travelling fans to come home with the AFF Suzuki Cup with K. Rajagobal's boys.

-- BERNAMA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...
2 comments
Read more

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...
1 comment
Read more

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more