KUALA LUMPUR: More than 40 football fans were detained following a World Cup qualifier between Malaysia and Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur after they hurled flares and bottles at each other, police said Wednesday.
It was the latest instance of trouble at a match between the arch-rivals after Malaysian fans were threatened and pelted with projectiles at a World Cup qualifier in Jakarta in September.In Tuesday evening’s match in Malaysia, rival fans started throwing projectiles during the match, which ended in a 2-0 win for the home side.
But the most serious trouble occurred after the game, with supporters lighting flares and hurling bottles in front of an entrance to the Bukit Jalil stadium.Security officials arrested 27 fans from Malaysia and 14 from Indonesia, senior police official Mohamed Mokhsein Mohamed Zon told local media.
They were released soon afterwards but police are still investigating the incident. Some Indonesian fans stayed in the stadium until the scuffles had ended and waited to be escorted out by police. The trouble at the September match — which ended in a 3-2 victory for Malaysia — was more serious.
Malaysia’s sports minister was evacuated from the stadium as violence erupted and police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd outside.FIFA fined Indonesia’s national FA $45,000 over the chaos, another blow for football in a country where the game has long been beset by problems.