wordless blabber

(click to see bigger image)

Kampong soccer - term coined by Joel, aptly describes the shambolic final of the ASEAN Football Championship between Singapore and Thailand. The football was of international standards for at most the short minutes when Nor Alam Shah and Pipat Thonkanya scored for their respective team.

Fouls were aplenty from both sides and set pieces were pathetic. Best of which was the Drogba-Ballack-alike comic routine by the Lions. Basic 1-2 passes were misplaced and shots were not on target. Sounds like what you can see at St Wilfred. The crowning glory was the walkout staged by the Thai players. What a joke indeed!

The man in the middle were just as bad! C Ravichandran from Malaysia display refereeing knowledge of an amateur. Case in point was his handling of a Thailand freekick at the Lions' right wing - instead of being at the spot to bring the Lions' players back ten feet, he was standing at the far end on the left wing waiting for the kick to be taken.

And his moment of glory was NOT when he gave the Lions the crucial penalty. From where he was standing, and at the speed at which it happened, he would be forgiven for being misled by the action and thought that Alam Shah was being pulled. As you can see from the photo taken from my vantage point, it wasn't the case at all.

However, how he handled the Thai team when they staged the walkout was pathetic! Instead of controlling the mayhem and disciplining the Thai team, he just stood at the fourth official's table and watch as the Thai coach gathered his team for a pep talk. Absolutely nothing was done by the Malaysian referee to bring some sense to the chaos.

Most of us on the stand were urging for the dismissal of the coach and the suspending of the match as the minutes ticked by. However, according to some official, the Thais returned before the 15 minute marked which would have meant automatic suspension of the game, which will also mean awarding of the game to Singapore.

In many ways, the appointment of a referee from a competing nation shouldn't have occurred in the first place. However you look at it, bias handling will always be suspected. Furthermore, not many Asean referees have reputation of being technically capable of handling such an important match except maybe Shamsul Maidin. Plus the rule of no away goals advantage in a two-legged final. What's the point then?

Come Sunday, where the two teams will match up again for the final leg, it will be a harrowing experience for the Lions and those brave fans who will be there. The already fragile relationship because of the countries' politics will add further fuel to the fire. I hope good sense prevail and good football be played on the field.

Our nations have outgrown the kampong we once lived - time for our football to be the same.