It wasn’t by any means as deadly as the serious scrimmages between English football firms, but it was definitely as nasty and churlish.
A mini-riot sparked off at Gombak Stadium last Saturday as dozens of football players from Balestier United Recreation Club and Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (Safsa) clashed, following dismissals on each side by the referee.
Both amateur teams were playing in the Football Association Cup match with Safsa leading 2-1, but the referee had to halt the game (before abandoning it) when the fight broke out. Reportedly, a Safsa player was sent off the match after kicking an opponenet, while a Balestier man received a dismissal as well for allegedly punching that Safsa player.
An argument between Balestier players and Safsa captain Syafiq Siraj (who was benched and watching from the sidelines that day), escalated real quick. He was seen sprinting across the track as players from Balestier chased after him before finally catching him at the stands and beating him up. Watch the insane scuffle below:
The bystander who recorded the footage also got his share of physical brutality when players demanded that he stopped taking videos.
The massive melee only broke up after police officers arrived at the scene.
In wake of the chaos, Syafiq wrote a Facebook post alleging that his mother was hurt in the brawl and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He also made a police report and claimed that he didn’t know why the opposing team’s players wanted to chase him.
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS), in turn, has promised “stern action” against the players involved in the scrimmage last Saturday night. As investigations are being conducted, they assured that they do not “condone violence of any form, and the alleged behaviour has no place in football”.
