Sudarsono (left) and FAS Exco members talking to the local press yesterday.
KUCHING: Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) have lamented how the lighting of flares at the Stadium Negeri had burned a big hole in their pockets.
While hoping that stadium seats will be sold out for home matches, FAS president Datu Sudarsono Osman appealed to Sarawak fans for sympathy as the association have to carry the burden of paying fines after every match.
“FAM (Football Association of Malaysia) have a set of rules and regulations for teams who want to compete in their league system. Failure to comply to these set of rules will definitely lead to three things namely fines, stadium bans and league points deduction,” he explained.
One such rule is the prohibition of burning flares at all venues.
During a lunch-cum-press conference yesterday, Sudarsono added that the rule is in effect from “two hours before the match kicks off until all crowd completely disperse after the final whistle of the match.”
He reported that Sarawak have so far paid a total of RM351,000 of fines for incidents related to flares in both home and away matches.
“We do understand that fans are in festive mood after matches and we want them to continue to be in (the mood) all they want. What we don’t need is to pay the price as it is hefty for FAS,” said Sudarsono. Other than flares, other objects such as flag sticks, be it wooden or those made from PVC pipes, are also prohibited.
For now, FAS will have to tighten security at the Stadium Negeri during match days.
For home matches, he did not rule out screening fans who enter the stadium. But so far nothing has been decided yet.
The press conference was also attended by FAS secretary-general Abdullah Julaihi, FAS vice-presidents Haidel Heli and Razali Dolhan.