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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian football officials on Monday defended their team after a scuffle at the Southeast Asian Games which saw angry players chase the referee, who fled the pitch under police escort.
The Malaysian Under-23 players let loose after suffering a 3-1 loss to Vietnam in the Lao capital Vientiane on Sunday - a huge setback in efforts to qualify for the semi-finals.
Malaysian and Vietnamese newspapers said the players threw bottles and chased South Korean referee Kim Jong-Hyeok, who had to run to the middle of the ground to escape his pursuers.
Security forces later moved in to protect the referee and escort him off the pitch while the Malaysian players were calmed by their coach.
Malaysian officials admitted the team had behaved badly but said they had been provoked.
"We have registered our strong protest and concern at the referee who seemed to be unfair and biased against the Malaysian team," said Khairy Jamaluddin, the deputy chair of the Football Association of Malaysia.
"This was the direct cause of the behaviour of some of our players. Of course bad behaviour can never be excused, but we were very unhappy with the quality of the refereeing," he told AFP.
Khairy described the incident as an "isolated" case but said that players could nevertheless be punished.
"We will look into appropriate disciplinary action when they come back from Vientiane," he said.
Malaysian coach K. Rajagobal also blamed the outburst on controversial decisions by Kim, including a red card for Mohamad Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak.
"The Malaysian team was always on the offensive but whenever our player was in front of the goal ... the referee would always make a call not in our favour, putting our players under stress," he said.
"My players are too young and emotional, they failed to control their anger and disappointment at the referee," Rajagobal said according to state news agency Bernama, adding that he had apologised to the match officials.
The senior Malaysian national side are now ranked a lowly 152 by FIFA, having fallen steadily since the 1970s and 1980s when they regularly beat Japan and South Korea. - AFP/de
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