Police urge fans to avoid any form of provocation during FA Cup final

Police today warned football fans going to the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil to watch the FA Cup final between Kelantan and Lions XII on Saturday to avoid any form of provocation.

Cheras police chief ACP Chong Kok Sin said police would not compromise individuals or groups that try to create unnecessary trouble before, during or after the match.

"I would also like to remind fans to not bring any banned items to the stadium, like firecrackers, flares, sharp weapons, helmets or provocative banners.

"We will conduct a thorough screening process at entry points and parking area," he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters, here today.

He said there would be enough police personnel inside and outside the stadium to ensure security.

The decision by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to sell tickets for the FA Cup final online has received positive response from football fans, especially those from Kelantan.

A check at the National Stadium's Purple counter that was reserved for fans to redeem tickets bought online, revealed that a long queue of Kelantan fans were waiting to redeem their tickets since 10am.

Many praised the move as a positive development since it saved them a lot of time and effort when compared with the traditional way of queuing up for hours under difficult conditions to buy tickets.

Mohd Zurnnyr Noh, 33, from Pasir Mas but staying in Kuala Lumpur for the past 15 years, said under normal circumstances, he would not have been able to purchase tickets for the match without the online process.

Badri Abdullah, 24, born in Machang, Kelantan but running his own business in Shah Alam for the past four years, was also happy with the system but urged the FAM to reduce the procedures involved to ease would be buyers from going through various steps.

Nashrul Supardi, 22, was also happy with the system but prefers an easier option to redeem the tickets rather than queuing up at the stadium's ticket counter.

The FAM had allocated 20,000 of the 80,000 tickets printed for the match, to be sold online after allocating 30,000 tickets each to Kelantan and Lions XII.

Meanwhile, fans who wished to watch the FA Cup final at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday, have been advised to use the LRT Rapid KL services.

Ampang LRT route operations chief Mohd Rahimi Ahmad said commuters using the LRT services should use the MyRapid Card to enable them to pass through faster so as to reduce congestion.

Mohd Rahimi also advised fans to use the 'Park and Ride" services provided at the Gombak and Ampang stations or alternatively park at the Bandar Tasek Selatan Integrated Station or Sungai Besi.

More than 80,000 fans are expected to converge at the National Stadium for the final.