Under-18 players from SAFFC, Hougang United fight, police called in

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Five players from the under-18 squads of Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League clubs SAFFC and Hougang United were involved in a post-match altercation near the Choa Chu Kang Stadium that saw police involvement and two Hougang players sent to Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital for treatment of injuries.

Frustrations during a Football Association of Singapore (FAS) centre of excellence under-18 league match involving the two teams last Wednesday had boiled over, with three SAFFC players, along with another individual, allegedly assaulting two Hougang players at a nearby coffeeshop after the match had ended 2-0 in favour of SAFFC.

In response to TODAY's queries, a police spokesperson said: "Police received a call on April 18 at about 10.15pm, requesting for assistance at Block 788, Choa Chu Kang North 6. Upon police arrival, it was established to be a dispute between two parties. Two males, aged 18, were conveyed conscious to hospital."

Hougang under-18 coach Nahar Daud told TODAY that there was a clash between two players in the last five minutes of the game, with at least two SAFFC players leaving the bench and running onto the field of play.

"I stopped my players from going onto the field, and ushered all of them into the dressing room after the game. But before I could do that, an SAFFC player challenged one of my boys, and even when our dressing room door was closed, we could hear the door being kicked several times," he alleged.

The former Singapore international left the stadium along with his entire team, and told the boys to go straight home, but he received a call from one of his charges shortly after the altercation, and returned to the scene of the incident.

"I accompanied the two boys to the hospital. One of them had a swollen left cheek, while the other had a bloody lip and a swollen right cheek," he said.

"We have to educate our young players and stop incidents like these from occurring."

SAFFC are just as uncompromising in their stance.

SAFFC under-18 coach Razif Onn told TODAY: "When I returned to the scene of the incident that night, I was told by the police that two of my players were allegedly involved. They have been suspended.

"We are meeting them tomorrow and, if our investigations show that they are guilty, we will sack them."

The FAS and S-League are conducting an investigation into the matter and awaiting official reports from both clubs.

The FAS added: "We condemn all acts of violence, both on and off the pitch. Such acts will not be tolerated, and action will be taken against individuals or parties who engage in such acts." Shamir Osman

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