KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — Flares were thrown, a riot broke out and a total of 41 football fans were arrested during the World Cup qualifier match between Malaysia and Indonesia at Stadium Bukit Jalil last night.
The match was marred after flares were allegedly thrown at local fans.
A commotion between fans were also reported as soon as the match ended with Malaysia beat Indonesia 2-0, with both goals scored by crowd favourite forward Muhammad Safawi Rasid.
The riot broke out in front of Entrance E of the stadium, forcing the Federal Reserve Unit to take control of the situation in the area.
Some Indonesian supporters were stuck inside the stadium after the match ended as they wanted to avoid confrontation with Malaysian supporters outside the stadium.
Cheras police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamed Mokhsein Mohamed Zon this morning said 27 Malaysian fans and 14 Indonesians fans were detained during the incident.
“They were later released after the documentation process was completed,” he said, adding that investigations are still ongoing.
Based on video clips making the rounds on social media, the first flare which emitted red smoke was flung after Malaysia took the lead in the 29th minute.
A second flare was thrown towards Malaysian supporters after the match ended.
A day before the match, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mazlan Lazim said a total of 1,331 police personnel will be tasked with maintaining public order at the stadium grounds while 160 personnel from the Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department would be on duty to ensure traffic runs smoothly.
A total of 85,000 people attended the match, including 6,000 Indonesian fans.
Some 2,800 parking lots were made available during the game, with designated parking lots for Malaysian and Indonesian fans.
Last month, Indonesia’s national football association was fined US$45,000 (RM187,000) by Fifa over crowd trouble during a World Cup qualifier against Malaysia in September.
Malaysian fans were threatened and pelted with projectiles during the visiting side’s 3-2 win.
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who was at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium then, said several Indonesian football fans had tried to barge into the area reserved for Malaysian fans.
