News

I was at Jalan Besar Stadium on Dec 30 for the Asean Football Federation Championship group stage match between Singapore and Vietnam. Many Vietnam supporters were denied entry despite having valid tickets, because they were in the zone designated for the home team, Singapore. The police were called in to mediate, and nothing untoward happened as a result. I feel that the Football Association of Singapore could have taken steps to prevent the dispute from arising in the first place. The zone designated for visiting fans was located in the Gallery, which is not sheltered. And only about a third of the Gallery’s tickets were allocated to visiting fans. Even though an advisory on the ticketing website clearly stated that visiting fans were not allowed to buy tickets in the zones designated for home fans, it appears that some Singaporeans bought home tickets and resold them to Vietnam supporters. I am a diehard Singapore football fan, but my 10-year-old son and his mother are Vietnamese. As I did not want my son to be exposed to the elements in the event of bad weather, I bought tickets in the Grandstand, which was reserved for Singaporeans. Thankfully, we gained entry without much of a hitch. But the same could not be said for more than 100 Vietnam fans who were denied entry despite holding valid tickets. I question why part of the sheltered Grandstand was not allocated to Vietnam fans, who were put in the exposed far corner of the stadium. The Vietnamese are known to be some of the most passionate soccer fans in South-east Asia, and many of them are married to Singaporeans or work here. Also, I saw empty seats in the Gallery during the match. Could those seats have been offered to the Vietnam fans who were holding Grandstand tickets? I hope the organisers can consider my points for future matches. A rare opportunity to support one’s national soccer team away from home should not go to waste like this.