Malaysia survive supporters’ violence for 3-2 win over Indonesia

JAKARTA, 6 Sept 2019: 

Malaysian supporters were put through a tense and heated situation when they were attacked by Indonesian supporters during the national team’s away game against Indonesia in the Group G opener of the second round of 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta last night.

The home fans aggression was confirmed through a video which went viral on social media – showing a number of home supporters storming into the stadium and invading the area where the Malaysian supporters were seated.

The video is believed to have been recorded by spectators in the stadium – which showed the Garuda squad supporters throwing bottles and various objects, including flares, from the stadium’s upper tiers towards the Harimau Malaya squad supporters.

The incident forced South Korean referee Ko Hyungjin to stop the match for almost 10 minutes.

The game continued without any more trouble until the final whistle, which saw Malaysia secure a valuable 3-2 win, under the guidance of head coach Tan Cheng Hoe.

Later, the Harimau Malaya squad had to be transported out of the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in armoured Barracudas. For safety reasons, all 24 players and squad officials were put on the armoured vehicles and ferried back to their hotel.

Sources said five armoured vehicles were used to transport the Malaysian players and officials to keep them safe from the home fans, with a bus also used as a decoy vehicle to distract their attention.

Malaysia had gone through the same security situation twice before, when they played the home team in the finals of the 2010 AFF Cup and 2011 Sea Games.

Back then, they also had to be transported from their hotel to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in an armoured Barracuda due to angry fans.

During the match, naturalised player Mohamadou Sumareh came off the bench to score two goals in the 37th and 97th minutes, while the other goal was scored by midfielder Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad in the 65th minute.

The victory saw Malaysia ending their 15-year losing streak at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium after their 2-1 victory in the first leg semifinals of the 2004 AFF Cup.

Malaysia will continue its qualifying campaign against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.

– Bernama