Man, 46, allegedly hit man, 51, with metal chair after S'pore Youth League football match

A 46-year-old man was arrested for allegedly attacking a 51-year-old man with a foldable metal chair after the final whistle of an under-14 Singapore Youth League (SYL) football match in Sengkang on May 11.

The alleged altercation occurred after a match between Geylang International FC and Albirex Singapore Football Academy held at Sengkang Secondary School, when the teams were making their way out of the venue, SYL said in a statement on its Facebook.

Tensions had reportedly escalated between players and supporters during and after the match, which Geylang won 8-0.

A 51-year-old parent of an Albirex player suffered injuries near his left eye and was taken to hospital.

Man arrested

Police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told Mothership that on May 11, they received a call for assistance at 10 Compassvale Lane at about 7:15pm.

The older man was sent to hospital and the younger man was arrested for rash act causing hurt, said police.

The injured man was conveyed to Sengkang General Hospital, SCDF said.

Police investigations are ongoing.

The alleged assault

Albirex said on its Facebook page that a parent of one of their players was allegedly assaulted with a foldable metal chair after the match, and suffered severe bruising and lesions near his left eye socket.

After seeking medical treatment at hospital, the man was discharged the same night.

"We are in close contact with the parent. He is recovering and his vision is improving. The parent has also made a police report immediately after the assault," Albirex said.

Albirex also condemned the alleged assault and said it would not be making further comments as the matter is in the hands of the police.

The injured man said the altercation took place after a fellow parent of an Albirex player told the Geylang coach that his players had insulted her during the match, for which the coach apologised to her, according to The Straits Times.

He told ST that when the parent walked away, a group of parents of Geylang players taunted her, so he stepped in to reprimand them, which caused the group to shout at him.

The man added that things did not get physical until he was walking out of the school, when he was allegedly struck with a metal chair.

Geylang U-14 coach Dawood Anuar told ST that both teams' players had engaged in mocking during the match, which raised tensions between the footballers, as well as their parents.

Anuar explained that during the conversation with the Albirex parent, he had apologised to her for his players' words but shared that the Albirex players also allegedly insulted his players with "some words about their mothers".

Anuar added that minutes after the conversation, there was a commotion and parents were holding one another back, ST reported.

Violence will not be tolerated: S'pore Youth League

In a May 12 statement, Geylang said it was aware of the incident that occurred during and after the U-14 match with Albirex.

"While we understand there were heightened emotions and tensions during the match, we do not condone any form of violence or inappropriate behaviour — on and off the field," the club said.

Geylang is currently conducting a thorough internal review and is also cooperating with the SYL committee and relevant authorities.

SYL also reminded players and supporters to respect league rules and to abstain from unruly behaviour.

"Violence will not be tolerated and we will not hesitate to report violent acts to the authorities. Disciplinary action will also be taken against such errant behaviour," SYL said.

Top image from Canva