LAUSANNE: World governing body FIFA on Monday announced a series of sanctions against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as punishment for the crowd trouble that wrecked the World Cup qualifier against Saudia Arabia on September 8.

Militant fans angry at the 10-0 humiliation in a previous match to the United Arab Emirates fired flares billowing orange smoke at Shah Alam Stadium as Malaysia trailed the Saudis 2-1 in the final minutes of the tie.

Players and officials then hurried from the field and Saudi fans ran from the stands as flares flew around the stadium. Eleven people were arrested but no one was reported injured

FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee said in a statement that their investigation of the incidents showed that FAM was “liable for the spectators behaviour.”

As a result Malaysia’s next home match against the Emirates on Nov 17 is to be played behind closed doors, FAM is to be fined $40,000 and issued with a warning.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2015

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