FAM: Complain and we will act

RACIST REMARKS: National body ready to pursue abuse of Doe

Terengganu’s Francis Doe was racially abused in the FA Cup quarter-final second leg match against LionsXII at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Tuesday

THE FA of Malaysia (FAM) wants Terengganu to officially lodge a complain with the parent body on the alleged racial abuse directed at their Liberian striker Francis  Doe in Tuesday's FA Cup quarter-final second leg match against  LionsXII at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.

"We are against all forms of racism and discrimination. We will wait for the Terengganu FA (TFA) to file an official complain," said FAM general-secretary Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad yesterday.

"If TFA does not take this initiative, we will then advise the Singapore FA (FAS) accordingly. We want to pursue this with them."

The abuse directed at Doe started when the player was warming up. Some of it was also directed at a linesman during the match.

Doe, who had incurred the wrath of Singapore fans over an incident in which Lions' defender Hariss Harun was sent off in the first leg, then gave the unruly fans 'the finger' during the warm-up.
According to an eye witness, a group of fans at the grandstand called Doe "orang hitam" (black man) and "nigger". The player confirmed he heard the abuse.

"They kept calling me 'monkey' and 'black' and I didn't appreciate that. Why call me those names? Because I'm black? Because I'm African?
"Football is a game, a friendly game. You can't say things like that. It's not right," the player told Singapore's The New Paper on Tuesday.

TFA will investigate the matter before deciding on the next course of action.
"We are against any form of racism and in Doe's case, he was definitely racially abused," said TFA president Datuk Che Mat Jusoh, who, however, added that the abuse came from fans and not from any Lions' player.
"Our fans sometimes also step out of line during matches but we must realise that it it tough for FAs to control supporters.

"We do not want this matter to escalate and most likely, we may take a lenient approach to solve it.
"It is wrong for their fans to abuse Doe and we will definitely speak to FAS," Che Mat added.

FAS said it had not been informed of the incident, but stated that it took a strong stance against racism.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of racism and have always stressed that there is no place for racial discrimination in our society," a spokesperson from FAS said.
Terengganu reached the FA Cup semi-finals 1-0 on aggregate.

Read more: NST