The Larkin incident - a personal note

Kuala Terengganu: When Bola Pantai Timur (BPT) said boa sorte to T-Team's Fabio Flor de Azevedo, Evaldo Rodrigues and Stefano Impagliazzo at TH Hotel & Convention Centre in Kuala Nerus last Friday, the trio's faces showed determination. Their mind was on the football game.

The hotel is just 800m from Sultan Mahmud airport and they were going to catch a flight with the rest of the team to Subang, en route to Johor Bahru, for a key FA Cup second round match. By virtue of being last year's runner up, JDT got a bye in the first round.

Not knowing what the match would eventually turn out to be, I subsequently asked one of the local players' wives - in Terengganu dialect - how she saw her husband's face and the rest of the players as they were about to enter the departure hall. Puzzled, she didn't get BPT's question and asked back in Terengganuspeak, how I meant. I explained whether they showed confidence, enthusiasm, or whether she could see pale faces, signs of anxiety etc. Since BPT didn't get any response in return, I just let it die off.

On match night, when BPT first learned about T-Team abandoning Larkin stadium for fear of the safety of players, officials and fans - I thought oh dear, come on these Titans, they already went for pre-season training in Thailand which accidentally coincided with a few bombing incidents. Surely they must have been made of sterner stuff! Football-speaking, they also defeated JDT 1-0 at home in a Super League game recently and had been causing problems to JDT after Marzuki reduced the deficit to 1-2 in the first half of this latest encounter.

But after checking and cross-checking, BPT came to appreciate the gravity of the problem.

Subsequent video clips posted on the net also lends credence to the grave situation they were in and the difficult decision they had to make in abadoning the second half. Imagine if T-Team had led in the first half, what kind of "severity" would have taken place inside the tunnel?

The breather was supposed to have been a quick refresh- pep talk, first half review and second half tactics. But the incident had undoubtedly shaken them off to other concerns - from good quality and competitive football to an overriding concern: SAFETY.  How can we reasonably expect people under gross anxiety to perform well in a competitive knock-out competition?

Then the names of the affected "victims" slowly found its way in the public domain. The press photograph at the Kuala Terengganu police station shows the Brazilian trio.

BPT finds it hard to believe what is alleged by certain parties - that they were somehow interested in things other than football at Larkin stadium.

Evaldo? He is a godly-man who keeps referring to God in his FB posting. He is also still being closely followed by Vietnamese football fans who were with him when he was in Vietnam. They would have all abandoned him if he is not a true football guy. He is just about to settle down and beginning to enjoy his stint in this east coast state. 

Godly-man Evaldo

Fabio? Already part of the Terengganu fabric, he is just very happy to be back for the second time in his second home and do a good football job as an "elder brother" in T-Team. Anything Terengganu - keropok lekor, nasi dagang, nasi minyak, satar, otok-otok, rojok betik, ikan celup tepung (ICT), islands, lake, sea, you name it - he enjoys it to the core.

Fabio: Part of the Terengganu fabric

Stefano? He spent only a brief period in Kedah once. He disliked the approach of the then foreign head coach who seemed to be at odds with so many parties. Taking his fitness coaching trade to Thailand and Bahrain instead, he shuns unnecessary quarrels.    

Stefano shuns quarrels

In this Visit Malaysia Year, as Malaysians, let us continue with our customary hospitality and make them feel at home. In this global village, amid local and international media spotlight and global football attention, join BPT in praying for a speedy, just, firm and transparent decision by FAM on Thursday.