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FIFA hits Malaysia hard for abandoned World Cup qualifier

ZURICH - FIFA says Malaysia forfeited a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia when it was abandoned because of crowd disorder.

ZURICH - FIFA says Malaysia forfeited a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia when it was abandoned because of crowd disorder.

The governing body’s disciplinary committee has also ordered Malaysia to play their next qualifier - against the United Arab Emirates on Nov 17 - without fans and fined the federation 40,000 Swiss francs (S$58,850).

The Group A Asian qualifying game on Sept 8 was halted in the 88th minute in Kuala Lumpur. With Saudi Arabia leading 2-1, a section of fans in the Shah Alam Stadium let off smoke bombs and flares, causing players from both teams to leave the field.

The result will be recorded as a 3-0 victory for Saudi Arabia.

The previous week, Malaysia suffered their worst-ever defeat when they were handed a 10-0 drubbing by the UAE in Abu Dhabi. The result caused Malaysia coach Dollah Salleh to resign immediately, while the country’s Youth and Sports minister Khairy Jamaludin threatened to suspend the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for the fiasco.

Last week, Malaysia slipped to their lowest FIFA ranking of 171. AP

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