Several Myanmar football fans were injured in a violent attack shortly after last night’s SEA Games men’s football match between Myanmar and Malaysia.
The game ended at around 11pm, and many Myanmar fans were among the crowd that filed out of Shah Alam Stadium to make their way home.
At around 11:30pm, in the middle of the post-match crowd, some Myanmar attendees were attacked by people wielding sticks and had rocks thrown at their cars. The attackers are alleged to be Malaysian fans, according to DVB.
At least 11 Myanmar nationals were hurt, with one person requiring hospitalization due to the extent of his injuries.
Ko Thet, the Myanmar president of Lovely Heart, a Kuala-Lumpur based blood donor organization that helped out in the aftermath of the attack, recalled to DVB: “After the match, they [the Myanmar fans] were dividing themselves up between buses, and others were trying to figure out where they had parked their cars. In the middle of the commotion, a few Malaysians started beating them up. [The attackers] stepped on their feet and heads. Some also stole their phones and money.”
One man, Min Soe, was part of a group of four fans who were trying to locate their car when they were got attacked. Min Soe sustained major injuries and had to be rushed to the hospital for a minor surgery.
“His jaw was dislocated and some of his teeth were broken,” said Ko Thet.
Malaysian authorities arrived on the scene shortly after the attacks, and with the help of Lovely Heart members, escorted the remaining fans back home.
Ko Thet pointed out that considering that Myanmar lost the game 1-3, it is unclear why Malaysian fans would feel the need to beat up the Myanmar attendees.
The attack was the third piece of bad news this week in Myanmar’s SEA Games journey. On Thursday evening, the women’s football team was stranded at the stadium after the bus driver who was meant to take them back to their hotel was arrested for stealing a watch from a Malaysian player and for driving without a license.
On Monday morning, two squash players from the Myanmar women’s team had to withdraw from their matches after suffering minor injuries in a bus accident on their way to the National Squash Center.
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