By Les Tan/Red Sports
Our Singapore Lions were reduced to bit players in their own arena. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Have you always gone to a place you thought was home but suddenly felt unwelcome?
That was the bizarre, and some would say, humiliating situation the national football team found themselves in on Sunday night.
When they walked out to the pitch, the emcee bellowed “Welcome to Anfield!”
The 45,000 crowd was a sea of, not Singapore, but Liverpool red.
Then the crowd broke out in one voice with the Liverpool anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
The song, a tune from a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, completed the theatrical effect, and hammered home the fact that the Singapore team were just secondary extras in a show about a team whose starting XI earns multiples more than the average fan who paid to watch them.
No one should begrudge Liverpool fans their lovefest with their favourite team but we should not have let our national team play.
Find a collection of players, give them nondescript jerseys and let them get hammered 5-0, but why submit a team wearing the Singapore national flag to such insulting treatment?
“This would not happen in Australia,” said Michael Johnson of the Singapore Slingers, who is an Australian. “Australian fans may like Liverpool, but if Liverpool played our national team, they would get behind the national team. No questions.”
“I didn’t feel comfortable,” said Aleksandar Duric, the 39-year-old national forward who was the only Singapore player singled out for praise by Rafael Benitez for his 45-minute performance in the first half.
“I didn’t see any Singapore jersey in the crowd,” he recounted. “And when they said “Welcome to Anfield”, I thought, ‘What are they talking about?'”
When Singapore’s Mustafic Fahrudin gave Javier Mescharano a muscular challenge, the crowd voiced its disapproval. Mescharano then slapped Fahrudin in retaliation in an off-the-ball incident which the linesman saw, but the referee told the Singapore players to leave it because it’s just a friendly.
Noh Alam Shah, who captained the team in the first half, had mixed feelings.
“Yup, it’s a little weird when I stepped on to the field and the whole stadium is cheering for the away team. But I understand the situation very well as it’s not like Liverpool would come here every year. So I think they deserve to show their support to Liverpool. Despite all that, I am still happy as they had at least reserved some cheers for us. Next game, they will be supporting us once more.”
The irony was that on the same day of the Liverpool game, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong opened the Sengkang Sports and Recreation Centre, emphasizing that “sport is a good unifier… because it creates an emotional connection which not many other activities can do as well. And when our national team wins, or sometimes loses, then we share in the joy and the glory, or sometimes the tears.”
In this instance, some clear-eyed folks who don’t smoke the English Premier League weed saw it for what it was: a collective national insult.
If the organisers wanted to turn Kallang into the Kop, that’s their commercial prerogative. They hired the stadium and ran the whole show. The Football Association of Singapore had no say in the running of the event and the Singapore national team even had to buy their own tickets to the game for their family members.
But we should have some pride and not have let our national team play under such belittling circumstances.
We should know who we are and where we come from.
We are Singaporeans, not Liverpudlians.
And this is Kallang, NOT Anfield.
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aiya it was just a friendly and local football has a long way to go.
it would hv been really stupid to scream alam shah or duric when u hv the lks of torres and alonso on the pitch. sunday’s match was nothing about loyalty to country it was experience for our long way to go local footballers and just a wonder night for singaporean liverpool fans to enjoy REAL football “LIVE”
Imagine the Liverpool team is consists of all-english. And all the fans are cheering for them. It will be like Singaporeans cheering for the other team instead of Singapore in an international friendly. :S
There are good reasons not to involve the national team. But ultimately this is a one off. I don’t think we should expect the Liverpool fans who paid a minimum of $88 per ticket to come and cheer the national team. When it matters, the Singaporeans will get behind the national team.
Moreover, if you ask the national players to choose, I am sure they would not mind playing a top EPL team. It’s also arguable that such games help raise the standard of our local team. Why deny them the chance? And imagine if we have beaten them – the morale of the team would be improved. Indra Sahdan today is still known for scoring against Man Utd. We really have nothing to lose here, I feel.
Let Raddy do his job
He knows who’s the best 11 in Singapore
As for who to support
Singapore VS Liverpool
I prefer liverpool because they have players who represent for their own country in the world cup
Standard of play is higher in that sense
I prefer high standard of play but i support Raddy
I don’t think it is really a matter about THIS particular Liverpool vs Singapore match, but more about two things.
Firstly, yeah, people pay money to support Liverpool and to see Liverpool play and have the feeling of Anfield in our own backyard. But does our national team have to be the ones to face them?
Although I am Liverpool fan, I am also a strong supporter of Singapore sports. So you can understand the contradiction in me. Want to support this yet want to support that.
So like what has been already suggested, maybe get another team to play. Maybe an sleague selection team consisting of mostly DPMM players? (hehe) But of course, some Singaporean national players wouldn’t mind 45,000 people supporting someone else in their home ground just for the chance to rub shoulders with global superstars. But to wear the Singapore flag out there, something just isn’t right. Kinda hard for me to enjoy. Who do I support?
Secondly, it would be the national pride. If I am not wrong, there is a friendly against China a few days after national day. I wonder what the attendence would be. I am not talking about this game, but in general. I overheard someone saying this during the liverpool game. “Oh and this is only the national football team,” a man sarcastically said. Do Singaporeans look down on their team? Not only in football but is this the case in other sports too?
Just a comment on national v liverpool support… I think the singapore national players should just chill.
Key is this: as a fan, I paid $88 to watch the game. I am entitled to support who I want to support.
It’s not as if we were anti-singapore, no one booed the singapore team. In fact, most in the crowd cheered at the home team’s introduction as well.
Not only that, we were looking and hoping for opportunities to support our lads, but sadly, found few. Honestly, I was hoping our Lions would answer with a goal of their own, but they looked nowhere near breaking the duck.
With some national players moaning about the lack of support, may i say this: respect and support has to be earned. It is not a right. By criticising the liverpool supporters for singing the anfield anthem instead of the singing national songs (by the way, do we have any?), it would only alienate the liverpool supporters more.
Instead I have this advice: roll up your socks and work your butts off on the field. You will then gradually gain the wholehearted respect and support of the fans.
It’s not about the scoreline, but about the spirit.
In any case, how many times do liverpool visit our shores? Every month? No need to begrudge the liverpool fans showing their support for their beloved team.
Hi, United fan here but I think whatever happened is no fault of LFC. It was the organisers, McMohan (ex-Scouser) and company, who decided to ‘bring Anfield to Singapore’. I wonder if the native Liverpool supporters in England are chuffed to know that their ‘spiritual Kop’ has been teleported to the Far East for the night!!
I was at both United’s matches in Singapore and Malaysia back in 2001 and the supporters were pretty respectful to the home team. I think Indra’s goal past Raimond van der Gouw got the largest cheer at the National Stadium while the Malaysian who hit Fabian Barthez’ bar also raised the roof. I watched Liverpool vs Singapore ‘live’ on TV then and there was no animosity from the Singaporeans to the Singapore players.
Fast forward to 2009. I was at both the United training and match in Malaysia. The training was open to all who bought tickets during the pre-sale period and that was easily 40,000 in the stadium. It was free seating except the VIP area and it was nice of the United players to organise different training at each corner of the pitch so all could have a close look. The ticket prices for the match itself was RM308 (small VIP section), RM98, RM68, RM58 and for students, RM28. The stadium was packed full (100,000 crowd) and I can testify that the Malaysian support for their players were as loud as that for United. In fact, the stadium erupted when they scored their goals. It was a terrific atmosphere enjoyed by all, and the tickets were clearly affordable and so many kids were there.
The problem with the Singapore vs LFC match is when the orgaisers decided to turn the National Stadium into ‘Anfield’. Part of what LFC do at the Kop with all their scarves and singing of the Rodger and Hammerstein’s musical Carousel song is to intimidate the opponents. So to enact that amongst the LFC fans in Singapore created a form of militant and hostile atmosphere against the opposition, which happened to be our very own Lions.
Is that necessary? I really find it totally disrespectful (I mean the organisers, I don’t mean LFC or their supporters). This is an exhibition game and there is no need to create the ‘us’ against ‘you’ atmosphere. And I know of alot of LFC fans, especially the younger ones, who could not afford to attend the game. It was emphasised in the press that even infants on arms need to pay $88 for entry!! Do you also know that the organisers sent posters to schools in June requesting for publicity to students and place bulk orders? Would any school encourage their students to pay $88 each for a game of football?
Perhaps in the future, let FAS do the organising. I am sure the FAS will not neglect local sensitivity.
RT @jan
Didnt know that about Malaysia national team – their results have sucked a while now in any case.
Have to agree with you on the rest … Sports as it is, as it should be, is two opposing teams trying their best to get the better of the other. When the line is not clear … yes .. it is just not sports as it should be.
@Kar-Teck
KL has sold out crowds for BOTH Manu games! The difference is, the Malaysia national team has theoretically ceased to exist a few years ago when the best footballers in the country have collectively decided to go semi-pro to just play for club and not play for the country. Its a highly political situation there.
What did we gain from playing Liverpool? You are right, and I guess that is what Les is trying to point out. It would have made more football sense to have for eg. SAFFC play against Liverpool, though I half-suspect that all the national players would want the experience to rub shoulders with the Liverpool players too. : )
I don’t think this story was a rant on national unity but rather redeeming the sense of pride of who/what the Lions mean to us. A larger crowd would be expected for Singapore vs Vietnam (as long as tickets are way cheaper) simply because it was a “us” against “them”. While its not so clear in a Singapore vs Liverpool game.
Even as a Liverpool supporter, I didn’t enjoy the game at all because it was “us” against “us”, it was just entertainment to me.
A few points I will like to make … given that I am not there at the National Stadium.
1) This is not Liverpool FC’s fault. Premier League is not a commercial and viable business so as a club, you have to play games as such. If not, you lose out.
2) This problem is not particular to Singapore. Man Utd played in KL (twice) last week – surely the Malaysia national team got the same treatment? (need citation on this)
3) From Liverpool FC’s perspective, they were very touched about the reception:
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N165202090727-1258.htm
4) I believe FAS and Raddy have expected this to happen BEFORE the game. Absolutely spot on, no one pays $88 in Asia to watch a game, so those who paid clearly came for Liverpool and not Singapore. If so, was it wise to set up the national team against Liverpool? In football terms was it worth it? What did we gain from playing Liverpool? If so, maybe we should have gotten an Sleague club to them instead?
5) The rant on national unity etc is not just. This is JUST ONE game. And a FRIENDLY. Surely the nation got behind the team in the Tiger Cup? Correct me if I am wrong – the crowd was larger when we played Vietnam last year? (I know tickets are cheaper)
What to do?
The organisers are not obligated to care about our national pride – they are not a local enterprise to begin with. Even if the FAS had no say in the running of the event, but the fact that they allowed the national team to play, then the obligation is theirs.
Because if the stakeholders in the sports industry doesn’t even care enough about guarding the national pride, then we can’t blame Singaporeans for not associating sports/football with national pride. For a young nation, national pride doesn’t just happen.
To put things in perspective, the fact that tickets cost $88 has already set the tone for the event – its a commercialised one. Whoever pays $88 to watch football in Asia? The organisers/profit-makers are thus only obligated to give people their monies’ worth.
So I don’t think the organisers meant for this to be a national insult because it was just about profit-making/business for them. But why did the stakeholders in the sports industry allow the potential bruising of the national pride, shooting their own foot?
National pride is something that is instilled over time and needs to be guarded. With our short history that is why we have NE. So failure of NE? Perhaps. It was funnysad how national flags were given out at the door. Question: did Thailand have to do the same?
I highly doubt it. Thais are already highly nationalistic without football and nationalism is built on shared experiences. Likewise, many Singaporeans may have a more meaningful shared experience with Liverpool FC than with the Lions over the last decade.
And this makes them more of a “Liverpool fan” but it wouldn’t make them any less “Singaporean”, if that is what the ultimate concern is.
Because in rhetoric, the national team is supposed to be a symbol of national pride, but in reality, has it been the case over the last decade in Singapore? Rather, has there been a conscious effort for sports/football to be understood as a fragment of national pride?
If it hasn’t, then I guess there isn’t an argument to begin with.
Great article. Funny thing is, when I was ranting on this in facebook, a few EPL followers acty made some points saying that I am not right in my views!!
let them redeem themselves in SINGAPORE VS CHINA, THE NATIONAL DAY CHALLENGE.
REDSPORTS, I BEG OF YOU, INFORM OUR LOCALS TO COME FOR THIS MATCH, THE MEDIACORP WOULD NOT EVEN ADVERTISE ABOUT IT. THE MOST USED NEWSPAPER WOULD ONLY PUT ONE SMALL SECTION ABOUT IT. PLS! DO AN ARTICLE BEFORE THIS. WE WANT TO WIN THE TIONGS!
Heart pain lah, talking about this topic…
This is not about football. Liverpool plays very good football and Singapore did not give a good account of themselves in the second half. That was clear on the pitch.
But this is not about football, it’s about respect.
If they want to recreate the Kop, that’s fine. But don’t set up our national team like that.
I don’t blame Liverpool fans and this is not an anti-Liverpool tirade. They bought a ticket and they went to have a good time and so they should. (In case you’re wondering, I don’t watch the EPL anymore. I threw out my cable set 8 years ago. I found it a bit meaningless as I got older.)
Perhaps they could have completed the illusion by finding 11 players and putting fake Man Utd jerseys on them.
Final score: Liverpool 5 “Man Utd” 0
Everyone can go home happy and no one is insulted (Man Utd fans weren’t there anyway).
What this thing just shows is that Singapore needs a regular league they can play in that gives them 20 games a year.
You cannot support what you cannot see.
And when was the last time anyone saw the national football team play?
Only 5 or 6 meaningful games a year for the national team does not a following make.
we need to do something. we need to let the singaporeans know how disgusting we are. WE ARE NOT THE SAME WHEN LIVERPOOL AND MAN UNITED CAME 6 7 YEARS AGO!.
PEOPLE DONNING THE FLAG OF ENGLAND, PEOPLE SINGING THE LIVERPOOL ANTHEM WITH PRIDE. PEOPLE FEELING DISGUSTED WHEN HITTING MASCHERANO.
IM SORRY. SINGAPOREANS HAVE THE WORST FANS IN THE WORLD.
What a shame. Singaporean don’t support Singapore.
Yeah man.
I totally agree with you on this.
Not to take anything away from Liverpool, but that fans behaviour was disgusting.
yeah les. It was a total insult and slap to our face. What were the Liverfools thinking …. Ooops … The name says it all.
Hi SSF
Maybe the 4-day Emperor of Singapore Steve McMahon paid so much to ensure only Liverpool ruled the island the time they were here.
“You’ll EVER Walk Alone…”
Hi Les
I agree completely with you. And as I mentioned in my own post on the topic, I can’t help wondering whether the SSC and the FAS actually forgot to have a say on the way the event should be organised when renting out the Stadium and sanctioning the match.
And the emcee was a dimwit too.
Cheers
SSF