Cambodia Mr. Kombes Pol Surmadji, a senior officer of the Indonesian police, wanted to stop the brawl at the 32nd SEA Games final but ended up becoming the victim.
Mr. Sumardji in the melee between Thailand and Indonesia at the SEA Games final. Photo: Hieu Luong
"Actually, I jumped in to stop everyone but was beaten. The injury was not serious, it was just part of the fight," Antara News quoted Sumardji as saying.
Early in the first extra time of the match at the Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh on the evening of May 16, Irfan Jauhari scored to raise the score to 3-2 for Indonesia. His teammates then ran to celebrate in front of the Thai technical area, as a response to the opponent doing the same to them when the equalizer was 2-2 at the end of the second half. A fight broke out from there.
Surmadji jumped in to stop them. As he tried to pull an Indonesian assistant out, a Thai member rushed in and pushed him hard, knocking him to the ground. The Indonesian team leader had to lie down and hold his head to avoid being trampled by the crowd during the fight. He was then unable to walk and had to be helped back to his seat. Surmadji suffered a wound to his lip, which was bleeding.
Kombes delegation leader Pol Surmadji suffered an injury to his lip after the brawl. Photo: Antara
Asked whether Thailand had apologized after the incident, Surmadji said he was not sure. "Instead, I apologized to Thailand," Surmadji said, admitting that he had learned his lesson.
Kombes Pol Surmadji was born in 1972 and is a senior officer in the Indonesian police force. In 2016, he joined football and was appointed as the head of Bhayangkara FC. In 2019, he started as the head of the Indonesian U22 team and started with the Southeast Asian U22 championship.
The melee between Thailand and Indonesia.
In this match, the referee issued a total of five red cards to Thailand and two to Indonesia, in addition to 12 yellow cards for both teams. The match ended with a score of 5-2 in favor of Indonesia, helping them win their first SEA Games gold medal since 1991.
After the match, coach Indra Sjafri asserted that Thailand had caused the conflict. However, both sides took the initiative to reconcile and apologize to each other.
Head of the Thai delegation Yuttana Yimkarun reminded the players to be calm. He told Matichon : "The incident is not serious. This is a test of the players' ability to stay calm. I always emphasize to them that they need to control their emotions. Thailand will come back after this defeat to prepare for the final round of the U23 Southeast Asian Games."
The vice president of the Football Association of Thailand also expressed his support for coach Issara Sritaro. He said that Thailand did not lose to any opponent at the SEA Games, despite missing out on the gold medal. "Hopefully coach Sritaro will continue to lead the team in the Southeast Asian U23 tournament that Thailand will host in September. We continue to ask for cooperation from the clubs. That tournament coincides with FIFA Day, so the team will have better personnel," he said.
Duy Doan - Hieu Luong (according to Antara News, Matichon )
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