FAM likely to come down hard on Kafa

The Kelantan FA (Kafa) are set to be punished today for their fans’ unruly and unsporting behaviour during the Malaysia Cup final against Negri Sembilan on Saturday.

Kafa have been hauled up by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) disciplinary board to answer charges relating to their fans’ behaviour at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya today.

And, judging by the damage caused by their fans’ action during the final, which Negri won 1-3, the board are likely to come down hard on Kafa.

On Saturday, fans from both teams let off fire crackers and smoke bombs and threw objects – mineral bottles and other missiles onto the pitch. The Kelantan fans even set some of the plastic seats in the stadium on fire.

Kafa president Tan Sri Annuar Musa is expected to be present before the DB chairman Kamaruddin Abdullah to answer the charges.

It will be interesting to note the outcome of the hearing as the FAM were responsible for the security arrangement on that day.

Kafa had previously been punished by the DB for their fans’ actions and for not providing adequate security at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru.

On March 31, Kelantan fans threw missiles and water bottles onto the pitch and set off fire crackers during a highly-charged Super League home match against Negri, which they lost 0-1.

Then, on April 7, the Kelantan fans ran riot and overturned a police truck before setting it on fire outside the same venue after losing to Negri 1-2 in a FA Cup semi-final, first-leg match.

This time the FAM came down hard on Kafa, who were banned from using their homeground for one year and fined RM90,000 by the disciplinary board. (The one-year ban was later reduced to one month.)