Lion City Sailors, Tampines Rovers hit with fines, suspensions after SPL altercation
SINGAPORE: Lion City Sailors and Tampines Rovers have been sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) over incidents that took place during and after their Singapore Premier League (SPL) match last month.
Sailors head coach Kim Do-hoon received a S$2,000 fine and a three-match suspension for violent conduct, FAS said in a media release on Wednesday (Aug 10).
Tampines assistant coach Mustafic Fahrudin, meanwhile, received a S$3,000 fine and a three-match suspension for the same charge.
The suspensions mean that each coach will be banned from their team’s dressing room and bench for their next three SPL games with immediate effect.
The two clubs were also fined S$5,000 each for the conduct of their teams.
The Sailors were initially charged over the conduct of their spectators as well. However, this charge was dropped “due to inconclusive evidence”, said FAS last week.
In video footage from SPL's official highlights of the Jul 24 match, Kim and Fahrudin are initially seen in close proximity, with Fahrudin's left hand on Kim's shoulder.
As the two men square up to each other, Kim appears to move his forehead towards Fahrudin's face. Fahrudin then keels over, clutches his face and steps away from the scene.
All this took place in the technical area of the Jalan Besar Stadium in the 87th minute of the match, which was won by the Sailors 2-1.
COACHES FELL SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS
The FAS Disciplinary Committee (DC) reached its verdict on Wednesday evening after convening on Aug 4 to hear the case.
The sanctions were decided upon after all evidence was reviewed and studied by the Disciplinary Committee, FAS said.
The committee “considered several factors prior to deriving the sanctions meted out”, said chairperson K Bala Chandran.
“On the issue of the fines handed out to the two clubs for the conduct, the DC noted that the situation did not escalate into a brawl and the match was not abandoned as good sense ultimately prevailed,” he said.
“The DC concluded that the acts of both (Kim) and (Fahrudin) were of violent conduct and that they, as officials who are expected to uphold professionalism and sportsmanship in such situations, had fallen short of expectations.”
With regard to the higher fine imposed on Fahrudin, Mr Bala Chandran said that the Tampines assistant coach was seen via video footage "to have moved towards (Kim) on three separate occasions, which unfortunately further escalated the situation, rather than defusing it”.
“In this regard, the DC agreed that his actions merit the higher fine imposed,” he said.
The clubs will receive FAS’ official notice of decision on Thursday.
