Macau World Cup qualifier protest continues with 39-goal FA Cup farce as goalkeepers allow opponents to score

Match between Tak Chun Ka I and Hang Sai is latest thumbing of the nose to the Macau FA after refusal to travel to Sri Lanka for second leg

Follows a letter to Fifa and the AFC written by captain Nicholas Torrao and threat by players to quit the national team

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The Macau FA Cup game between Tak Chun Ka I and Hang Sai finished 21-18. Photo: Twitter

Published: 1:21pm, 17 Jun 2019Updated: 10:05pm, 17 Jun 2019

Two Macanese football teams made their own protest at the country’s World Cup Qualifiers situation by playing out a 39-goal thriller in the Macau FA Cup, the Taca de Macau, on Sunday.

Tak Chun Ka I beat Hang Sai 21-18 in the opening weekend of the competition at Lin Fong Stadium, with even the goalkeepers getting in on the scoring. The farcical encounter saw both goalkeepers deliberately getting out of the way of shots to allow the opposition players to score and teams applauding their opponents’ goals.

It was a stark contrast to when the teams met in the league in April and the game finished 2-0 to Hang Sai.

The freak result was because of the Macau FA’s decision to not fulfil the second leg of their World Cup Qualifying first found tie against Sri Lanka, which they led 1-0 after the first game.

That decision was made on the basis that they could not guarantee the safety of the players in the restive South Asia country.

The players offered to travel independently and waive the FA’s responsibility, but that was declined. Since then captain Nicholas Torrao has written to Fifa and the AFC to ask them to play the second leg at a neutral venue. A final decision is yet to be made.

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