HONG KONG champions Eastern may face the wrath of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) over an incident in which an international linesman was surrounded, verbally abused and pushed by their players seconds after a match against Thai Farmers in last weekend's Queen's Cup tournament in Bangkok. Asian football's governing body will not hesitate in taking any disciplinary action thought necessary against Eastern. The incident happened immediately after the final whistle of Sunday's 1-1 draw with Thai Farmers when Eastern players surrounded the linesman to protest over the sending off of winger Ross Greer, who was given his marching orders in the 70th minute. The linesman had called the referee's attention after a tackling incident involving Greer. The referee, after consulting the linesman, dismissed Greer. Eastern had stood a chance of defeating Thai Farmers and qualifying for the final rounds of the tournament before they were down to 10 men. AFC general secretary Peter Velappan said Eastern will be punished if guilty of any misconduct saying club rivals South China had not escaped the wrath of the AFC when Dutch goalkeeper Werner Kooistra was banned for four games for fighting in a pre-season friendly in the Philippines. 'We will wait for the referee's report and if it an enquiry should be necessary, action will be taken against Eastern. 'The AFC are vigorously trying to clamp down on violence on the pitch,' Velappan added.
