Malaysian Fans Attacked At FIFA Qualifiers After Harimau Malaya Bags Win Against Indonesia
Malaysian fans had water bottles, flares, and allegedly even urine thrown at them.
By Arisha Rozaidee — 06 Sep 2019, 01:04 PM
Malaysian football fans were assaulted with metal objects and water bottles after Harimau Malaya won against Indonesia in the World Cup qualifier match
On Thursday, 5 September, chaos broke out following Harimau Malaya's 3-2 victory over Indonesia's national team in the World Cup 2020 qualifier at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
According to Bernama, all 24 players of the Malaysian team and their coach Cheng Hoe had to be transported out of the stadium in Barracuda armoured vehicles for safety reasons.
The game was disrupted during the final quarter due to crowd trouble.
Indonesian fans had begun to incite Malaysian fans using flares, smoke bombs, and abusive language.
Fox Sports Asia reported that the game was halted for a total of eight minutes after a few unruly Indonesian fans attempted to break into the Malaysian fans' area and cause mayhem.
Angered home fans had also choreographed a 'tifo' which displayed vulgar words directed towards the Malaysian team.
A total of three Malaysians were injured at the stadium.
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq announced that Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will be filing a formal complaint to FIFA.
A Harimau Malaya supporter told CNN Indonesia, "There were three who were injured. One of them slipped and fell during the chaos at the stadium."
"His arm broke, he was evacuated and taken to the hospital."
According to Malaysiakini, Syed Saddiq was trapped at the stadium alongside other fans for about two hours.
He wrote on Twitter, "I have been informed by the FAM that they will be filing an official complaint to FIFA. Meanwhile, I will lodge an official complaint to the Indonesian government and my colleagues over there."
Netizens who attended the match shared photos and videos of the incident online
Twitter user @SCBarai wrote, "Urine is thrown [at us] from different directions."
User @danilshfq__ tweeted a video of an Indonesian fan running towards Malaysian fans and attempting to snatch the Jalur Gemilang before being pinned down by the police.
"The Indonesian fans are causing trouble. The game was going just fine," said netizen @Faizduncare.
