SOUTHEAST Asian soccer chiefs must look at introducing stiffer penalties and stricter regulations to prevent petulance, anger and out-of-control behaviour from tarnishing the region's soccer championships, according to a senior official.

Asean Football Federation Executive Secretary Yap Nyim Keong said something must be done to stamp out 'unsavoury incidents' during the hotly-contested regional event.

The latest blight on the tournament occurred last week in a group stage match between Singapore and Myanmar in Jakarta when Myanmar's inflamed goalkeeper Aung Aung Oo rushed out of his box to shove the referee.

The players also walked off the pitch, holding up the game for eight minutes, and such walk-offs are nothing new to the tournament.

'We send the teams, the coaches, the team managers to workshops before the tournaments, they know the rules but yet all this still happens. We need to look at things again,' Yap said.

'We will consider all aspects, including education, to prevent repeats of unsavoury incidents,' he told Singapore's Straits Times broadsheet.

Yap's thoughts were echoed by former Singapore international Goh Tat Chuan, who was a member of the Lions team in 2004 when four Myanmar players got sent off, one for throwing a water bottle at a Singapore player.

'Their actions were terrible and yet the AFF did nothing in terms of punishment. Harsher punishment needs to be handed out,' he said.

'In Europe, if a player did something like this, they would be severely dealt with and their livelihood would be affected.'

Following last Sunday's incident in Jakarta, Myanmar's goalkeeper received just a one-match ban despite running almost half the field to push Vietnamese referee Phung Dinh Dung. -- REUTERS