THE Southeast Asian Games final between Indonesia and Thailand descended into chaos as players and staff began fighting with each other.
Emotions were high as Indonesian players and coaches began to celebrate a 2-1 victory, thinking the referee had blown for full-time.
But there was still time remaining and in the dying seconds Thailand scored to send the game into extra-time.
Tensions on the sidelines boiled over as Thai coaches confronted Indonesia players, with the referee and his assistants losing control.
The mass brawl eventually settled down for extra time to be played until a third Indonesia goal sparked another melee.
This time around even more players were involved and police were involved in separating the two groups.
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The ref dished out two red cards for each team which meant Thailand finished the game with just eight players.
Indonesia took advantage and scored twice more to claim a 5-2 victory and the trophy.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it was condemned the behaviour and confirmed an investigation would be launched.
A statement read: “The AFC underlines the importance of fair play, mutual respect and sportsmanship, and takes a zero tolerance approach towards all such acts of violence.”
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Indonesia head coach Indra Syafri revealed both sides had forgiven one another after the match.
He said: “I regret that friends from both Thailand and our team [had a row]. But it’s over. We already hugged and forgave each other. This is football.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
