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FAM Should Follow UEFA's Approach In Tackling Hooliganism - Velappan

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Former Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Assistant Secretary-General, Datuk Peter Velappan has suggested that the national body should follow the European Football Association's (UEFA) approach in tackling football hooliganism in the country.

Expressing his concern on the matter, he said FAM must play a more proactive role to curb violent acts as was being done by UEFA which handed severe punishment to its affiliates if their fans caused commotions either at home or away matches.

"We should learn from them (UEFA) on their method of handling the hooliganism issue. I'm quite sad with the commotion that happened at the Shah Alam Stadium last Sunday where a few Vietnamese fans were injured after being attacked by our supporters, which indirectly has tarnished the image of Malaysian football fans who are known for their good conduct.

"This situation never happened during my days in FAM before. So, I hope that FAM and the police will look into this matter in future matches," Velappan said.

He told this to reporters when met at the launching of the second edition of 1Malaysia Cup Under-19 (U-19) football tournament by Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M), here, today.

A few Vietnamese fans were reported to have suffered injuries after being attacked by Malaysian supporters following Malaysia's 1-2 defeat to Vietnam in their semi-final first-leg match in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014 competition at the Shah Alam Stadium last Sunday.

Velappan also backed Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin's suggestion for FAM to hand down severe punishment to the vicious fans, such as barring them from entering stadiums for life if they were found have a bad track record in previous matches.

On the Shah Alam incident, the former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Secretary-General pointed out that a lack of security officers present before and after the match was the main factor causing the commotion to happen.

"I do not know what happened since I was not in the stadium, but by the time police acted, damage had been done. FAM (officials) and police should be on the alert to avoid any untoward incidents before and after matches," he added.

-- BERNAMA

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