Myanmar police were forced to use water cannons against rioting soccer fans, who tore up their seats and threw stones at officers after their team lost to Indonesia at the Southeast Asian Games.
Home fans were devastated when Indonesia beat Myanmar 1-0, eliminating the home team from the final.
Unrest broke out inside the Yangon stadium before the match ended and continued for two hours after the match, with fans burning Southeast Asian Games memorabilia, setting billboards ablaze and throwing stones at police.
“We arrested eight football fans last night, including two who invaded the pitch in the second half,” said police deputy colonel Min Aung.
Myanmar is hosting the Southeast Asian Games for the first time in 44 years and the event has been billed as a “coming out” party for the country emerging after decades of international isolation.
“We had high hopes for the Myanmar team. We even planned to go to Naypyidaw today to watch the semi-final,” said fan Phone Myint Khaing.
“I have no words to describe how sad we are. It’s heartbreaking.”
Myanmar’s Korean coach, Park Seong-Hwa, was quickly blamed and fired after the match.
Local reports indicate he was unaware of the competition’s rules which stipulated that the outcome of head-to-head matches – not goal difference – would determine who would progress if the teams were tied on points.
He had previously discussed Myanmar’s chances of claiming gold.
Repeat offenders
A sea of red: Myanmar fans watch their soccer team take on Cambodia in Yangon during the SEA Games. (AFP: Ye Aung Thu)
Hooliganism at football matches in Myanmar is common.
Fans destroyed the pitch at a new stadium in the capital Naypyidaw in August, where Indonesia will now travel to play in the semi-finals.
In 2011, Myanmar was banned from World Cup qualifying by the sport’s organizing body after a home match against Oman had to be halted when crowds threw bottles and stones at the opposition.
This ban was lifted on appeal.
New Myanmar, new games
The Southeast Asian Games, or SEA Games, are the region’s largest sporting event and take place every two years.
Thousands of athletes from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and East Timor are taking part in the Games which close on Sunday 22 December.
Wunna Theikdi Stadium in the capital Naypyidaw was built especially for the games, to allow Myanmar to show a new image and convince the world that it is open for business after decades of military rule.
Myanmar last hosted the SEA Games in 1969.
AFP
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