ONE minute of madness cost them $42,500 in fines and 52 months' worth of suspensions.
This was the punishment meted out by a Football Association of Singapore Disciplinary Committee (DC) early this morning, two weeks after an S-League game between the Young Lions and Beijing Guoan had to be called off due to a brawl.
The harshest punishment fell on Beijing's Meng Yang, who was fined $3,000 and banned from all football-related activities for one year. The substitute was found guilty of kicking Faritz Abdul Hameed in the head as the Young Lions midfielder lay prone on the ground.
'We considered his actions as the most serious as they could have led to some very serious injuries,' explained K. Bala Chandran, chairman of the DC.
Meng was one of 10 players from the Chinese outfit charged over the incident; all received fines ranging from $1,500 to $3,000, while Su Boyang and Zhang Ye were also suspended for eight months.
Meanwhile, of the six Young Lions charged, four - Gabriel Quak, Khairul Nizam, Madhu Mohana and Fairoz Hasan - were hit with fines and suspensions. Irwan Shah and Safuwan Baharudin escaped with fines.
Both clubs were also fined $5,000 and docked five points.
They have been given seven days to file an appeal, with the managers of both teams, Eugene Loo (Young Lions) and Jonathan Wong (Beijing), saying that internal discussions will be carried out before a decision is made.
The DC also confirmed that the game will not be replayed, with the 1-1 scoreline at the point that the game was abandoned to stand.
While Bala stressed that the DC has no power to impose worldwide bans, the suspensions spell bad news for Singapore's Asian Games hopes, with the bulk of the team for the Under-23 tournament expected to come from the Young Lions.
At last year's South-east Asia Games, Nizam led Singapore's attack.
'It definitely reduces our chances at the Games,' said former international S.Subramani. 'Missing them is going to be a huge blow.'
Loo added: 'Our preparations for the Games will surely be affected. But the players have done something wrong, so they will have to face the music.'
When contacted, national coach Raddy Avramovic hung up without comment.
The DC's announcement of the sanctions, that came just after midnight, brought to an end a hearing that spanned two evenings, with all 16 players charged given the chance to plead their case.
'Deciding on their guilt was quite straightforward,' noted Bala. 'With video evidence, most players admitted to their misconduct.'
'I don't think there have ever been so many players brought in front of a DC for a single incident,' he said, adding that the only real precedent was when national striker Noh Alam Shah kicked Daniel Bennett in the head during the 2007 Singapore Cup final.
The striker was handed a $2,500 fine and a one-year ban, which was subsequently reduced to seven months.
Summing up the whole incident, Bala pointed out: 'It was the most embarrassing display of player conduct in S-League history.'
This was the punishment meted out by a Football Association of Singapore Disciplinary Committee (DC) early this morning, two weeks after an S-League game between the Young Lions and Beijing Guoan had to be called off due to a brawl.
The harshest punishment fell on Beijing's Meng Yang, who was fined $3,000 and banned from all football-related activities for one year. The substitute was found guilty of kicking Faritz Abdul Hameed in the head as the Young Lions midfielder lay prone on the ground.
'We considered his actions as the most serious as they could have led to some very serious injuries,' explained K. Bala Chandran, chairman of the DC.
Meng was one of 10 players from the Chinese outfit charged over the incident; all received fines ranging from $1,500 to $3,000, while Su Boyang and Zhang Ye were also suspended for eight months.
Meanwhile, of the six Young Lions charged, four - Gabriel Quak, Khairul Nizam, Madhu Mohana and Fairoz Hasan - were hit with fines and suspensions. Irwan Shah and Safuwan Baharudin escaped with fines.
Both clubs were also fined $5,000 and docked five points.
They have been given seven days to file an appeal, with the managers of both teams, Eugene Loo (Young Lions) and Jonathan Wong (Beijing), saying that internal discussions will be carried out before a decision is made.
The DC also confirmed that the game will not be replayed, with the 1-1 scoreline at the point that the game was abandoned to stand.
While Bala stressed that the DC has no power to impose worldwide bans, the suspensions spell bad news for Singapore's Asian Games hopes, with the bulk of the team for the Under-23 tournament expected to come from the Young Lions.
At last year's South-east Asia Games, Nizam led Singapore's attack.
'It definitely reduces our chances at the Games,' said former international S.Subramani. 'Missing them is going to be a huge blow.'
Loo added: 'Our preparations for the Games will surely be affected. But the players have done something wrong, so they will have to face the music.'
When contacted, national coach Raddy Avramovic hung up without comment.
The DC's announcement of the sanctions, that came just after midnight, brought to an end a hearing that spanned two evenings, with all 16 players charged given the chance to plead their case.
'Deciding on their guilt was quite straightforward,' noted Bala. 'With video evidence, most players admitted to their misconduct.'
'I don't think there have ever been so many players brought in front of a DC for a single incident,' he said, adding that the only real precedent was when national striker Noh Alam Shah kicked Daniel Bennett in the head during the 2007 Singapore Cup final.
The striker was handed a $2,500 fine and a one-year ban, which was subsequently reduced to seven months.
Summing up the whole incident, Bala pointed out: 'It was the most embarrassing display of player conduct in S-League history.'
