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Sep 8, 2010
S-League brawl
Match was abandoned after all hell broke loose
By Royston Sim

A melee broke out in the Beijing penalty box after two of the foreign team's players were floored in a challenge. -- TNP PHOTO: BENJAMIN SEETOR
THERE was only a minute left of the S-League football match last night when a free-for-all broke out between the Young Lions and Beijing Guoan at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The fight forced referee Zaid Hussein to abandon the match, believed to be the first S-League game to be discontinued this season. The score was tied at 1-1.
According to eyewitness reports, tempers were frayed even before Young Lions defender Afiq Yunos equalised in the 88th minute to even the scoreline, after Zhang Ye's 48th-minute goal. Said a spectator at the match: 'After the restart, a Young Lions player was in possession of the ball when a Beijing player made a sliding tackle on him from behind. 'A fight broke out after that.
There were punches and kicks flying and players from both sides got involved. It was no-holds barred. The Beijing bench ran onto the pitch, and the Young Lions bench joined in.' Another source said the brawl lasted about two minutes before security staff defused the situation. Young Lions team manager Eugene Loo said no players were seriously injured in last night's incident, although midfielders Faritz Abdul Hameed and Gabriel Quak were sent to hospital after the melee for head and arm injuries respectively.
Shortly after the incident, the Football Association of Singapore issued a statement saying: 'The FAS takes a serious view of this gross misconduct by the players. We are conducting an investigation and the perpetrator will be dealt with severely.'