SINGAPORE: On Sunday, the Lions were knocked
out of the AFF Suzuki Cup, losing to Vietnam at the National
Stadium — but it was on terraces, and not the pitch, that Singapore
lost the plot.
Violence broke after the end of the semi—final second leg match,
with punches thrown along with bottles. Most of the trouble
occurred around and outside the East Entrance, where both the
die—hard Singapore fans and 5,000 Vietnamese fans were seated.
“The Singapore fans were throwing rubbish and water bottles at
us as we were leaving through the East Entrance,” said Mr Duong
Tuan Anh, :24, a software engineer.
“A big group even ran towards us, punching and kicking. All we
could do was try to pull our friends out of and run.”
The poor behaviour of local fans started even before the match
did. Said Vuong Dao Nghe on the Nanyang Technological University
(NTU) post—grad football forum: “The Singapore fans screamed
vulgarities and booed during the (Vietnamese) national anthem.”
But it was after full time that things came to a head. When
bottles were thrown at them, said Duong: “Some of us got angry and
ran across, then a fight broke out. It was quickly broken up by the
security personnel.”
The scuffles continued on the way out of the East Entrance, to
as far as the overhead bridge linking the stadium to the old
People’s Association building. “My friend and I were attacked on
the overhead bridge,” claimed Pham Mahn Tung, 27, a PhD student at
NTU. “The Singapore fans used punches and kicks, but fortunately we
were not seriously injured.”
In response to queries, a police spokesperson said: “We
responded to calls of people fighting near the East Entrance of the
National Stadium and at the PA carpark, but upon arrival officers
observed that there was no commotion at both locations.” It is rare
for the stadium to see such a large number of away fans, and that
combined with the Lions’ loss could have sparked off the ugly
scenes.
Singaporeans whom TODAY spoke to condemned the actions. “We
should not condone such behaviour, it is totally unacceptable,”
said civil servant Rashid Osman, 32. Student Rishi Shankar Pandey,
15, said: “I saw a Singapore fan running into the Vietnamese crowd
with a flying kick, causing the Vietnamese man’s face to bleed.
This is really stupid, we should learn to lose graciously.”
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) was quick to condemn
the actions of local fans involved. Saying they were “extremely
disappointed”, FAS spokesperson Eric Ong added: “Fans who come for
football games should have a good experience and we regret that for
some of our visiting fans, their experience was marred by the
disgraceful and unsporting actions of these senseless minority
amongst the spectators. To the Vietnamese fans, we offer our
sincere apologies.”
For Pham, the whole episode was a shock. “I have been in
Singapore for more than six years, and I believe it to be a very
peaceful community. This is the first time I’ve seen something like
this happen here ... I hope there will be more security personnel
the next time.”
In England, some clubs hold the home fans in their seats while
the away fans exit the stadium first, to minimise risks of a clash.
Duong believes that could have helped the situation here. “The
worst thing was that the Vietnamese fans and the Singapore fans
left at the same time — maybe if that didn’t happen, this might not
have been so bad,” he said.
The FAS urged the relevant authorities to “take the necessary
action” on those involved. “We will continue to review our security
operational procedures and take the appropriate action when
required,” said Ong. — TODAY/sh
