FAM must take firm action against those responsible for fracas at stadium - Khairy

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) must take stern action against those responsible for the fracas at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium after the FA Cup second leg semifinal between Lions XII and Terengganu, last night.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the FAM through its Discip0linary Committee must punish those responsible for the incident because it did not only tarnish the image of Malaysian football, it posed a threat to the safety of others.

"I wish to stress that rioting cannot be accepted. Those responsible cannot use the referee's decision as an excuse," he told reporters after opening the Selangor Karnival Fiesta Mesra Belia 1Malaysia, here Sunday.

He said the FAM should also tackle the negative perception of referees and standard of refereeing in the country.

Khairy said the since it was not the first time that such an incident has taken place due to referees' decisions, the FAM must explain the issue.

Last night referee Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob had ruled out Terengganu's fourth goal in the 89th minute scored by Ahmad Nordin Alias against the Lions XII for offside, a decision that denied Terengganu a spot in the FA Cup final.

In the match, Lions XII from Singapore lost 2-3 to Terengganu but qualified for the FA Cup final on the away goals rule after both teams were tied 4-4 on aggregate after the second leg semifinal.

The Lions XII had won 2-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore in the first leg and by virtue of scoring two goals as opposed to Terengganu who managed to score only one goal in Singapore, the Lions marched on.

Meanwhile, the decision by the referee to also expel Terengganu's Brazilian striker Paulo Rangel and also give the marching orders to Gustavo Fabian Lopez albeit a second yellow card for protesting, saw the 15,000 odd unhappy fans venting their anger by burning and damaging public facilities at the stadium and setting fire to an ambulance.