Indonesia defeated 9-man Thailand 3-1 in the SEA Games group A soccer match on Sunday to secure a berth in the semifinals.
Titus Bonai, Patrich Wanggai, and Fernidan Sinaga scored for Indonesia, while Thailand scored with a Ronnachai Rangsiyo goal from the penalty spot.
Indonesia now tops group A with nine points, followed by defending champion Malaysia with seven points.
With only one match left, Indonesia needs only a draw against Malaysia to finish on top of group A.
Soccer fans protested poor ticketing service offered by the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta today.
Hundreds of fans queued for several hours to exchange prepaid vouchers and receipts with tickets to the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup final match between Indonesia and Malaysia on Wednesday.
One fan, Karman, said a lack of manpower had resulted in long delays.
“There needs to be more people manning the ticket booths,” he said.
Another fan, Yusril, said the organizers should have added more booths to speed up the process.
“The organizers are making huge profits on ticket sales. It wouldn’t cost much to add a couple more booths to cut down the number of hours we had to wait,” he said.
Fans had waited for an average of four hours to exchange vouchers and receipts with tickets. (gzl)
The National Police have called on Indonesian soccer fans to behave themselves when Indonesia plays against Malaysia in the second round of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup final on Wednesday.
“We call on soccer fans to be good hosts,” National Police public relation division tweeted on Tuesday.
Hooligans could tarnish Indonesia’s international reputation, it said.
“Anarchy will limit Indonesia’s chances of hosting future soccer events,” it said.
Police will impose tough disciplinary measures on soccer fans found carrying banned items to the upcoming AFF Cup final match at Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Items banned from the second round of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup final match between Indonesia and Malaysia include sharp weapons, firecrackers and lasers, Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman said Tuesday.
Sutarman also said that anyone found carrying dangerous items would be punished and removed from the stadium, kompas.com reported Monday.
Police reminded supporters to remain orderly and not to play tricks such as pointing lasers at players.
“If we win we will be grateful. We have to be proud if our team wins, but we should win justly. If we lose, we still have to play fair. We don’t have to point any lasers at players. That would be unfair, and the world will reprimand us for it,” Sutarman said.
Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng said his office was talking Malaysia into allocating tickets for Indonesian supporters for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 final match between Indonesia and Malaysia at Bukit Jalil stadium in Kuala Lumpur this Sunday.
He said Indonesia would do the same thing for Malaysian supporters at the second final match at Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Dec. 29, if Malaysia agrees on allocating the tickets.
“We’re holding talks about the issue with Malaysia; our ambassador there is talking them into it. We want some tickets allocated for Indonesian citizens living in Malaysia, as well as those who will have to fly from here to watch the match,” Andi said after a Cabinet
meeting at the Vice Presidential Office.
He refused, however, to disclose exactly how many tickets he wanted Malaysia to allocate.
Indonesia will meet Malaysia in two final matches after defeating the Philippines in two semifinal matches in Jakarta last week, both by scores of 1-0.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who watched the semifinal matches with the Philippines in the Bung Karno Stadium, has said he also wants to watch the final match between Indonesia and Malaysia in Jakarta.
The Indonesian national team will reap a Rp 2.5 billion (US$280,000) bonus after its victorious advance to the 2010 Asean Football Federation Cup finals.
Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) chairman Nurdin Halid said on Sunday evening that he would give the bonus to the players himself, as reported by kompas.com news portal.
Indonesia twice defeated the Philippines 1-0 in the semifinal leg matches for the 2010 AFF Cup.
The Red-and-White squad will meet Malaysia in the finals on Dec. 26 in Kuala Lumpur and Dec. 29 in Jakarta.
