MALAYSIA has declared Friday a public holiday to celebrate its victory over Indonesia in the final of the Asean Suzuki Cup - south-east Asia's premier football tournament.
Malaysia beat Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate in a final played over two legs, winning the cup on Wednesday for the first time.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the holiday in a statement to the national news agency Bernama late on Wednesday, saying that the victory marked 'the greatest night in Malaysian football.'
He posted from his Twitter account: 'Well done, Malaysian Tigers! You played well as a team and have made your country very proud. Congratulations!'
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s sports minister Monday said he was upset at “unsporting” football fans who aimed laser beams at Indonesian players during an ASEAN Football Championships match which Malaysia won 3-0. Malaysian fans among the 100,000-strong crowd at the national stadium in Kuala Lumpur late Sunday reportedly aimed laser beams at Indonesian players, forcing the game to be halted after 53 minutes.
The Indonesian players walked off the pitch in protest, and organisers warned fans that the match would be called off if their behaviour continued, according to The Star newspaper.
The game resumed six minutes later and shortly after the restart, Indonesia conceded three goals.
“I am upset. I am not happy at all, it’s very unsporting for Malaysian fans to do so,” youth and sports minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek told AFP, promising there would not be a repeat of such incidents.
“We were worried about a clash between the fans so we have put in place measures to segregate them but using laser beams was rather a new thing to us,” he said.
“I am not pleased at all. In fact I was embarrassed in front of my Indonesian guests,” said the minister, who however hailed Malaysia’s performance as a “big achievement”.
Malaysia’s victory in the first leg of the championships, formerly known as the Tiger Cup, puts them a step closer to their first Southeast Asian championship title.
Indonesia will host the return match on Wednesday.
Meanwhile furious Indonesians have flooded Twitter with accusations that Malaysia unfairly won a key regional football match after fans in Kuala Lumpur apparently distracted Indonesian players with laser beams.
At least four of the top 10 words and phrases most popularly used on the social network site were linked to tirades against Malaysia soon after the home team beat Indonesia 3-0 Sunday night in the first leg of the ASEAN Football Federation Cup final.
For nearly an hour, “Malaysia cheat laser” ranked No. 1 on Twitter’s global “Trending Topics” chart. Other phrases used were “Use Laser,” “Curang,” which is Indonesian for “cheat,” and “Support Garuda,” a reference to the Indonesian squad.
The match was halted for five minutes shortly after halftime when Indonesia’s goalkeeper and another player complained that bright green lights were directed at them from laser pens used by an unidentified few among the 85,000-strong crowd at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Malaysia’s largest city.
Officials then warned fans to stop using laser pointers.
All of Malaysia’s goals came later between the 61st and 73rd minutes.
Many Malaysians were quick to defend their team, saying there were no beams shone on the field during those 12 minutes of goal scoring.
“None of the 3 goals had anything to do with (cheating). It had to do with” a weak Indonesian defense, Khairy Jamaluddin, a prominent Malaysian government politician and former deputy president of Malaysia’s football association, wrote on Twitter.
Agencies
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JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) — The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) on Monday said Malaysia’s national team cheated during the first leg of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup final on Sunday, the Jakarta Post reported.
Nurdin Halid, head of the PSSI, said a powder which causes itchiness and allergic reactions was discovered in front of Indonesia’s goal net in the Bukit Jalil football stadium in Kuala Lumpur. The match was won by Malaysia by 3 goals to zero.
According to Halid, the suspicious powder affected Indonesian goalkeeper Markus Haris Maulana and other defensive players as it caused itchiness which had a negative effect in their performance during the first leg match.
In addition, the Indonesian team claimed that, during the match, Malaysian supporters were aiming laser beams at their eyes. The game was stopped after 53 minutes and the Indonesian team walked off the field in protest.
Stadium authorities called for measure and warned that the match could be suspended if that behavior continued. The game eventually resumed after five minutes and Malaysia then scored three goals in minutes 53, 71, and 68.
Indonesia has announced that it will file a formal protest with the Asean Football Federation as the team claims it was terrorized since they were in a bus heading towards the stadium.
It was Malaysia’s first final in 14 years and first victory over Indonesia since 1979. The second leg is scheduled to take place in Jakarta on Wednesday.
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MIC wants national football coach K Rajagopal to be honoured with at least a Datukship.
Party president G Palanivel said Malaysian football has been on the rise since Rajagopal took charge of the under-23 side.
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The team won the SEA Games gold medal in Laos last December and yesterday clinched the AFF Suzuki cup for the first time.
"Before this, the country waited many years to get back Asean glory.
"We were in the doldrums all these years," said Palanivel.
"This man beat all the odds, he was focused and believed in himself and his team. Such dedication must be rewarded," he added.
The MIC president said Rajagopal built a winning team made up of players with varied skills which is much more difficult than coaching an individual sportsman.
"This is the first time Malaysia won the AFF championship since the biennial tournament was introduced in 1996," he added.
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