Victories and losses are the customs of sports and games; it’s called sportsmanship. However, certain parties might not be able to accept their defeat and often would be bitter towards the opposite party’s victory.
If you’re not aware of what is happening in the Malaysian sports’ industry, last night (9th February), the final round of 2022 4-Cornered Football Championship had taken place in one of the final contenders’ home ground, Kuala Terengganu. Terengganu FC II (TFC) was going against Penang FC for the 2022 YAB Terengganu’s Chief Minister’s cup.
However, the match ended in a very unprofessional way with no hints of good sportsmanship between the two teams. It all happened in the first half of the match when Penang FC failed to score their penalty kick. Of course the opposite party would celebrate their goalkeeper’s success in saving the goal. However, the players of Penang FC might’ve taken the celebration as a mock towards their team.
One of the players of Penang FC responded to the celebration by pouncing on a player from TFC from the back out of spite. From one hit, it led up to another; erupting a fight between the two teams.
When the management thought they had managed to dissolve the fight, a couple of Penang FC’s players decided to chase down a player from TFC across the field. As an effort of self-defense, the player who was chased, punched the face of Penang FC’s guest player, Adib Ra’op who tried dissolving the fight but ended up with a bloody nose.
https://twitter.com/izqandarzlqrnn/status/1491413159617658882?s=20&t=buVmz5X20FqjMT8oi2jA9A
After all the chaotic hot mess were successfully handled by the management, both teams went back to their locker rooms. However, only TFC came back out to the field to play for the second half of the match, while Penang FC packed their belongings and went straight back to their hotel. The withdrawal of Penang FC has resulted in TFC being awarded with a total score of 3-0, making them the overall champion.
TFC’s management team has released an official media statement through their official Facebook page regarding the issue. They have also met up with the management team of Penang FC to issue an apology. Other than that, they hoped that the injury sustained by one of the Penang FC’s players isn’t serious and they hope for him to keep on playing professionally.
If getting into petty fights and oversensitive players are the reflection of our local football industry, maybe netizens are right; we can’t go too far in this field.
