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Malaysia: Football players walk off to protest laser pen wielding fans

A football match in Kuala Lumpur between Indonesia and Malaysia was disrupted when Indonesian players walked out, “complaining about poor visibility after being shot by a number of laser beams from Malaysian supporters.” The game resumed eight minutes later “after a negotiation,” with Malaysia winning 3-0.

The incident happened during the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup finals first leg. In an earlier AFF Cup semi-final game against Malaysia, Vietnam’s players complained of fans’ laser interference as well.
The Jakarta Globe wrote about the Indonesia-Malaysia finals match:

Indonesia’s players also had to deal with the crowd, particularly goalkeeper Markus Harison who was continually distracted by laser lights being flashed by the home fans. Referee Toma Masaaki stopped the match in the 53rd minute after Indonesia complained that the lights were being aimed at players as they tried to defend against a Malaysian free kick. The game was resumed after eight minutes.


After the match, Indonesia’s president told his sports minister to file a protest with the AFF.

Despite the interference, “the President called on Indonesian supporters not to use laser beam when Indonesia becomes the host of the second leg on Wednesday Dec. 29: ‘Let’s be a country that upholds a fair play,’ he said.”

From
Jakarta Post news stories about the game and about the President’s reaction, and a story in the Jakarta Globe

UPDATE, July 28 2011: See related story about a lasing incident at a Malaysia-Singapore World Cup qualifying match.