PHNOM PENH – Thai football chiefs apologised on Wednesday and promised “severe punishments” for wrongdoers after brawls marred the SEA Games football final against Indonesia in Cambodia.
Indonesia won the Under-22 match 5-2 on Tuesday after extra time, by which time Thailand had been reduced to eight players and the Indonesians to 10 in the wake of four red cards and two all-in brawls.
The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) said the incidents at Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium had damaged the image of the national team and singled out the involvement of their coaching staff for particular criticism.
“The association would like to express its disappointment and apologise for the chaotic incident that occurred off pitch,” the FAT said in a statement.
“Especially the staff and coach who represent all Thais, during every minute of their duty, they must maintain their calm emotions under high pressure.
“There will be a committee to investigate all those involved and there will be punishment. The investigation will begin immediately when the team returns home.”
The first brawl was sparked when the referee blew his whistle close to full time and Indonesia’s players and coaches celebrated thinking they had won the game 2-1. The whistle was in fact for a free kick, from which Yotsakorn Burapha scored an equaliser which triggered violent clashes between the two benches.
The equaliser sent the match into extra time but Indonesia were soon back in front, sparking another flurry of shoves, punches and kicks between coaches and players from both sides, which stadium security were forced to break up.
Indonesia coach Indra Sjafri was in no mood to hold grudges after leading his country to the SEA Games gold medal for the first time since 1991, a feat celebrated by President Joko Widodo.
“The tension of the match was high,” he told MetroTV. “Let there not be blame on one another. This was a marvellous final.”
Football enjoys a massive following in Indonesia, but the sport has endured a miserable eight months since a stadium disaster killed 135 people in the town of Malang last October.
That was followed by football’s world governing body Fifa stripping the nation of the right to stage the May 20-June 11 Under-20 World Cup in a row over the participation of Israel.
“Let this be the momentum of the resurrection of Indonesian football,” Indra said.
Keo Sareth, general secretary of the Football Federation of Cambodia, was equally forgiving of the ugly scenes. “We have no problem with them and as the hosts, we have completely and successfully hosted the match,” he said.
“Problems occurred on the pitch will be handled by match officials and they are doing a report to send to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), so they may face penalties in regard to code of ethics and disciplinary (issues).”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the AFC. REUTERS