Fans Had To Watch The AFF Suzuki Cup Final On The Floor And Staircase Due To Lack Of Seats
The Bukit Jalil National Stadium was overflowing with Harimau Malaya and Vietnam fans, with barely any space to move around.
The Bukit Jalil National Stadium was packed to the brim on Tuesday, 11 December, with hundreds - if not thousands - of fans resorting to sitting on the floor or staircase to watch the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 final between Malaysia and Vietnam
Image via Twitter @jimiecheng
Malaysia was held to a 2-2 draw by Vietnam in the nail-biting first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 final. Harimau Malaya will soon be travelling to MyDinh Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam to play the second leg on Saturday, 15 December.
Live photos from the stadium - which has an official capacity of nearly 88,000 - show sections of the venue packed to the rafters, with hardly any space for fans to move around
Image via Twitter @jimiecheng
Many ticket holders were also unable to find seats at their designated sections, hence they had to sit on the floor between sections or even stand on the tightly-packed staircases to watch the game.
Sports news portal Dugout estimates that there were about 105,000 spectators in the stadium.
Image via Twitter @jimiecheng
Fox Sports Asia reported that Vietnamese fans were upset with the situation, as about 500 of them were still stranded outside the gates due to over-crowding at the away section
Image via Fox Sports Asia
New Straits Times reported that about 3,000 seats were allotted for the Vietnamese contingent, but an auxiliary police officer later revealed that a seating area initially allocated for away fans was opened up for Harimau Malaya fans instead.
Thankfully, according to Fox Sports Asia, Malaysian authorities quickly removed barriers between the home and away sections, allowing some Vietnamese fans to move to other sections of the stadium to avoid congestion.
Image via Fox Sports Asia
Those who were at the match later took to Twitter to express their disappointment over the stadium's crowd management, with some pointing out that the over-crowding situation is not new and that it has "been this way for ages"
As such, some suggested that it is time for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as well as the stadium's management to conduct an audit and consider issuing numbered seats for future events
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