Macau players continued their protest at the Macau Football Association (MFA) with a 39-goal match in the Macau FA Cup recently.
The players were protesting the decision made by the MFA to not travel to Sri Lanka for the 2nd leg match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 encounter.
Sri Lanka were to play Macau on the 11th of June in the 2nd Leg of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier. However, on the 8th of June, the Macau Football Association decided not to send its National Football Team to Colombo, citing security risks following the Easter attacks.
Ka I beat Hang Sai 21-18 in a Macau FA Cup match which was played on Sunday. The score line may seem unreal and the spectators were left confused, along with the match officials.
When the Macau Football Association made the decision not to send its players for the second leg in Colombo, the general public along with the players of the National Team showed their displeasure through various forms. The skipper of the National Team Nicholas Torrao also wrote to FIFA and AFC on the matter.
“We the players are totally devastated with the cancellation of our second leg match against Sri Lanka, in their home ground, due to the refusal of our Macau Football Association to travel,
Please allow a chance for the players to give their hearts for this beautiful game,” he wrote.
The general public went on social media, pleading with the FFSL/FIFA and AFC to reschedule the match at a neutral venue and the players too wanted to play, even without the support of their own governing body.
What transpired was the entire National Team, players from the U23 and U18 teams, protesting and leaving the national setup.
Related Coverage;
- Macau players quit National Team in protest
- Macau refrains from traveling to Sri Lanka
- AFC & FIFA has accepted our security plans to play – FFSL
- We’ll try our level best with the youngsters – Packeer Ali
This particular match, where 39 goals were scored, was another demonstration of the players’ displeasure and protest against the Macau Football Association.
At half time Ka I led 6-5, with the players letting the opposition score unchallenged. In the second half, the scoreboard stopped working at 21-17. The game ended 21-18.
At full time Hang Sai coach Teledifusao said he and the club respected the players’ thoughts.
“It might be that they are not satisfied with the (arrangement) of the World Cup qualifiers, and they just showed their discontent. They had their own way of expressing their thoughts. The club and I as a coach respect that.”
Ka I club management sent out a statement of apology on the behavior of their players, stating it never discussed or agreed with Hang Sai on the behavior during the match.
“We respect the players’ expression of their personal opinion by non-violent means. However, the club does not encourage any violent or unsportsmanlike behavior. We feel sorry about the result.”
The Macau Football Association too will hold its investigations and both clubs will have their own investigations into the behavior of the players.
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